Last December, a farmer was burning dry grapevines in his vineyard in Deir Mar Moussa, a hill town a dozen miles east of Beirut known for its 18th century monastery and stands of pine forest. Usually this would be dangerous, given that Lebanon’s hot and dry climate can quickly turn a spark into a conflagration.
But on this day the worst was avoided. A device made by a German startup “smelled” the smoke from the farmer’s fire and sent out an alert, allowing authorities to prevent it from spreading. Given the recent explosion of global