For generations, the mission of the fire service has remained the same: locate the fire, apply water and protect lives and property.
While this has remained constant, tools have evolved.
Despite this, one challenge remains constant: making decisions with limited information, often described as the fog of war.
Today, the fire service may be approaching another technological shift: the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into fire suppression operations.
AI has the potential to reduce that fog by helping incident commanders gather, analyze and understand information faster than ever before.
For firefighters, captains and incident commanders, the question is whether new tools can help crews operate safer, faster and more effectively in increasingly complex fire environments.
Modern fires behave very differently than those of previous generations and firefighters often have little time to make tactical decisions.
At the same time, many departments face staffing shortages, increasing call volumes and expanding response areas.
Despite these changes, one part of fireground operations has remained largely unchanged: how water is delivered to the fire.
In many incidents, officers and pump operators still rely on experience, radio reports and visual cues to determine whether suppression efforts are working.
Those skills remain critical, but smoke, heat and rapidly changing conditions can make it difficult to fully understand what is happening.
Meanwhile, the modern fire scene is generating an unprecedented amount of digital information about buildings, contents, occupancy and risk profiles.
This “big data” environment presents an opportunity for AI systems to help collect, sort and analyze information that firefighters may not have time to process themselves.
When most people think about AI, they picture tools like ChatGPT that generate text responses.
But AI agents designed for the fireground would serve a very different purpose. The PEAS framework helps explain how these agents could function.
PEAS stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators (or Agency) and Sensors.
Using this framework, AI becomes more than a chatbot—it becomes a real-time assistant that helps incident commanders process information and make decisions during rapidly evolving emergencies
On a working fire, information is everything, but one critical piece of information often missing is what the water itself is doing, how much is flowing, where it is going and whether it is actually reaching the seat of the fire.
The One Meridian Plaza high-rise fire illustrates this gap.
One factor contributing to the tragic loss of life was the difficulty crews had in diagnosing a pressure-reducing valve installed on the wrong floor.
Attack crews could not achieve adequate hose pressure and valuable time was spent trying to understand the problem.
If a sensor-enabled system had been available, monitoring pump pressure and nozzle flow, AI could have quickly identified that the issue was related to the building’s standpipe system, not the hose line or pump.
The system might have suggested using an alternate outlet sooner.
In situations like this, faster diagnosis could change tactical decisions and potentially save lives.
A growing concept in fire technology is the Predict–Deploy–Suppress model. Instead of relying only on reactive suppression tactics, this approach integrates data and sensor feedback into the decision-making process.
The model includes three stages:
Predict: Historical fire data and real-time information estimate likely fire behavior and required fire flow.
Deploy: Connected equipment allows suppression tools and crews to be positioned more efficiently.
Suppress: AI-assisted systems help optimize water delivery by analyzing flow rates, pressure and stream characteristics.
To fully implement this model, the fire service will likely need a new generation of sensor-enabled nozzles, pump panels and electronic command boards connected to AI systems designed for fireground use.
The goal is not to replace firefighter decision-making, but to provide better information during critical moments.
At its core, fire suppression is about thermodynamics.
Water extinguishes fire by absorbing heat through vaporization.
The effectiveness of that process depends on droplet size and how well the stream interacts with the fire environment.
Traditional nozzles often produce droplets that are either too large to fully vaporize or too small to penetrate deep into the fire.
Historically, firefighters have judged suppression effectiveness primarily through observation while operating in extreme heat and low visibility.
Sensor-equipped nozzles and pump panels could change that by providing real-time feedback on flow, pressure and temperature changes, helping firefighters optimize the cooling effect of every gallon of water.
This capability becomes especially valuable during incidents with limited water supply, such as rural tanker operations or urban systems under heavy demand.
Connected suppression systems would also generate valuable operational data. Every fire and training exercise could produce information about how suppression tactics actually performed.
Training officers could analyze:
Instead of relying solely on memory and reports, departments could use data-driven reviews to refine tactics and improve training.
Over time, this creates a positive feedback loop: better data improves AI models and improved models help firefighters make better decisions.
Whenever automation enters a profession, concerns about job replacement follow. In the fire service, those concerns are understandable.
But. firefighting will always require human judgment, teamwork and courage. AI systems are intended to support firefighters, not replace them.
Much like autopilot systems in aviation, AI can reduce workload and improve safety while leaving critical decisions in human hands.
The fire service has always adapted to new technology. Tools once considered revolutionary are now standard.
AI and connected suppression systems may represent the next step in that evolution.
The fundamentals will remain the same. What will change is the amount of information available to support those decisions.
With better data, smarter equipment and more efficient water use, firefighters will have powerful new tools to help them succeed.
And in a profession where every second counts, better information can make all the difference.
