Aisha Farooq, from the FPA, takes a look at how virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies are changing the fire safety landscape.
The advent of digital realities has transformed understanding of how technology can be utilised in the real world. With a rise in the number of new technologies and capabilities emerging across diverse sectors, the fire safety industry is recognising the impact that immersive tools can have on its products, services, and practices.
The advantages from using these emerging technologies have uncovered a whole new world of possibilities of what could be achieved in terms of mitigating risks from fire and increasing life safety.
The scope of digital realities is also expanding with augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and some elements of extended reality (XR) now weaving their way into our daily lives.
Much literature has already been published about the use of both AR and VR in the context of fire safety. Take, for instance, the installation of sprinklers in a care home.
With AR technology, computer-generated elements are superimposed onto a real-world view, allowing the user to benefit from digital markers or guides in a physical environment.
Thus, a fire engineer or inspector can use an AR headset to provide a virtual overlay of how a fire suppression system will appear in an existing structure. Visualising this can help installers measure and align materials to fit correctly and follow step-by-step instructions throughout the process of installation, thereby flagging any potential for errors or damage.
Fire safety inspectors can also take advantage of this capability by viewing a digitised form of maintenance records for fire safety equipment that includes dates of installation, most recent tests, and recorded repair work.
A 2019 research study1 led by Yi-Jao Chen considered the feasibility of integrating a building information modelling (BIM) system with AR to aid in the inspection of fire safety equipment of a virtually designed building.
It did so by creating a cloud database of fire safety equipment information that could then be accessed by the user through AR to carry out maintenance and inspection via a mobile device. Of the various benefits summarised, the study highlighted its convenience, efficiency, and accuracy.
Fire safety education
Perhaps one of the most obvious applications of VR technology is through training simulations for fire safety professionals. VR offers a simulated three-dimensional environment that an individual can interact with.
Common examples of VR technology include flight simulators for pilots or combat scenarios for military training. In such cases, users can immerse themselves in dangerous environments without the risk of harm.
One Florida-based company, TargetSolutions, created a ‘Smoke reading in virtual reality’ training course after filming firefighters training in a real-life two-storey building fire. Launched in 2018, subject matter expert, Paul Costello said one of the several benefits of using VR as a training tool was that firefighters had the opportunity to run the simulation again and again, which was useful for “recognition prime decision making” and to build muscle memory.
During a Q&A session in 2018, Paul said: “Smoke reading techniques have been around for a while, but this activity brings this training to the masses with unfettered access to it to get it right. So when firefighters arrive on scene, see high volumes of smoke, it tells them what they’re going into – what tactics to use, resources needed, whether to attack or go on the defensive.
"This VR activity allows you to get in, test the environment and start working on core concepts before going into an immediate dangerous to life or health (IDLH) environment.”
Another company leading the way on this is the Australian-based FLAIM, which “intersects technology and science to create real-world immersive learning solutions, in safe virtual environments”.
Trainee firefighters can take advantage of fire proximity heat suit technology, a thermal imaging camera, and self-contained breathing apparatus to practice across multiple fire scenarios including residential buildings and high-rises.
Case study: Innovation at the FSC
A leading organisation for fire prevention and protection, the Fire Service College (FSC) has also been making use of the capabilities that AR and VR can offer. Based in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, it has been delivering fire and resilience training since the 1950s.
In the summer of 2023, FSC unveiled its first foray into AR technologies by designing a virtual building for its fire risk assessments. Speaking to F&RM about the launch, Pippa Steele, head of teaching, learning, and digital innovation at the Fire Service College said: “We have designed virtual, 3D buildings for students to navigate as an integral part of our fire risk assessment and fire safety courses.
“Previously, students would complete their training course with the FSC and then assess real buildings. Our research found that the consistency of assessment could be improved, given that learners encountered real buildings of differing complexity.
Now learners can carry out a virtual fire safety audit where we have designed the buildings from scratch and set up different scenarios that deliberately don’t meet regulations. This approach is both authentic and consistent, and has further enhanced the quality of our assessment.”
The virtual assessment involves the user walking through the building on screen and addressing fire safety hazards.
“The assessments are getting hugely positive feedback because those being assessed feel as if they are getting the support they need. The other brilliant thing is that we can give detailed and meaningful feedback on their behaviours. Before, when a student went to assess a building they would provide a portfolio of documents, but we were not able to assess how they approached the interviews with the owners of the building to gain the required information.
"The AR tool that we developed allows us to look at this, and provide constructive feedback on how the student could have prompted this in a better way or could have explained the legislation and requirements as clearly as possible.”
The advantages of being able to use AR in such a way have been transformative for the college’s teaching practices, especially regarding firefighter development. “AR supports the learner by allowing them to consolidate their learning and broaden their experiences to best prepare them to tackle a fire when the need arises.
“At the FSC we have introduced technology that simulates a fire demo box for the learner, so they can focus on the fire’s behaviour without their responses being impacted by heat and noise – shaping a rounded learning experience. The instructors are able to pause the simulation and discuss it.
From a learning experience, that’s incredibly important – we can teach firefighters about the principles of the fire, then get them to see what it is like to be in a real fire when they have embedded those principles and theories – rather than having to do everything in one go.
“Safety is another aspect to consider. By using an AR environment during parts of the training, we’re reducing the number of unnecessary contaminants that we’re exposing instructors and learners to.
“Ultimately, the learner is at the centre of what we do. We want to further improve the quality of the learning experience to robustly prepare firefighters for when encounter a fire. Using technology in this way offers a chance to pause, discuss, and debrief a lot easier.”
FSC is currently scoping a dedicated virtual reality suite that is due to open in autumn 2024 as part of the college’s 50th anniversary year. Once launched, it will cement the FSC’s commitment to utilising innovative techniques as part of its teaching, training, and assessment procedures.
Fire safety education
A 2021 paper by Haosen Chen et al. presented a proof of concept that considered how building information modelling (BIM) and AR/VR could increase situational awareness for firefighters during a fire incident. It states that the 3D architectural layout from BIM could be “integrated with other technologies to perceive and present more fire-related information”, helping inform evacuation strategies.
Training simulations are not just limited to fire safety professionals. VR-led fire extinguisher training is also available for workplaces and businesses, where users can use an industry-standard fire extinguisher and practise different types of fire behaviours and extinguishing agents.
Elsewhere, in 2021, the not-for-profit housing association Orbit teamed up with Firemark Education to launch a digital safety tour through a virtual home using augmented reality. The tool offers fire safety tips to customers by highlighting fire hazards and safety features with links to links. Aimed at a mass audience, the tool was designed to be ‘user-friendly’ and ‘easy to understand’.
In 2023, the Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery (VRiMS) project launched an app that could provide mandatory fire safety training for NHS staff using XR. Users wear VR headsets to interact with the simulated environment of an existing hospital – a digital twin – and tackle scenarios where fire hazards are present.
They can pick up and interact with objects in the digital environment and the technology also enables many staff to undergo their mandatory training whilst staying safe from risk.
Importance of data collection
The use of technology to aid fire safety work has been vital for the improvement of compliance and competency across the board. For example, in late 2023, insurers AXA UK announced it would be issuing body cameras to its contractors while they carried out work to remove flammable cladding and insulation from buildings.
Its purpose was to “protect our customers and ensure the work is carried out to the required standard using the correct materials”. Additionally, the recordings would offer “evidence of how protection systems such as sprinklers and alarms are installed”.
At the time, the director of customer risk management at AXA Commercial, Dougie Barnett said that it “should result in the remediated buildings being an improved risk, which will have a positive impact on policy premiums”.
Arguably, when it comes to the practical use of AR and VR tools, there is a huge reliance on robust systems of data already being in place. For example, a fire inspector using AR to access fire safety equipment information for a building will rely on that information being stored digitally where it can be made accessible when required.
In line with the Building Safety Act 2022, the government has made known the need for a Golden Thread of building information to be accurately recorded and digitally safeguarded as a single source of truth. Added to that is the Building Safety Regulator’s recent mandate for key building information to be submitted by the principal accountable person of high-rise residential buildings.
In the long run, these rigorous procedures for data collection and the digitisation of building information can only support the shift towards digital realities and fire safety and make it the norm.
For now, though, expansion into this area is limited by the data we have available.
When it comes to building design and construction, architects and building designers have already been using digital reality tools to their advantage, with MR (combining elements of AR and VR) having a transformative effect on how an architect or designer understands their building.
A 2020 study by James Garbett et al. examined whether BIM systems could encourage collaborative working in an AR environment to support design and construction.
Thus, combining two-dimensional and three-dimensional data from BIM, which can then be shared with other parties through AR, suggests that data integrity can be effectively maintained throughout a building’s lifecycle.
Generative AI: the next step in AR and VR?
In the recently published Fire Industry Association’s Fire Future Today anthology, Dr Chris Xiaoxuan Lu, Assistant Professor at the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, wrote about how generative AI would be a game changer in fire safety in 2024.
Teaming up with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, his team have successfully trialled firefighter helmets with embedded AI technologies “designed to revolutionise the way firefighters navigate and respond to fire incidents”.
The technology enables a firefighter tackling a fire to be equipped with a ‘carry-on AI brain’ that can send informative texts to the fire commander in real time, updating them on what is happening inside.
For Lu, generative AI “stands as a beacon of innovation in fire safety” and its “ability to transform and relay information across various formats revolutionises how we approach firefighting and prevention”.
The opportunities in fire safety made feasible by the use of digital reality tools cannot be underestimated.
Such scenarios demonstrate how digital realities can offer safer alternatives to otherwise high-risk environments, and our growing dependence on mobile and smartphone technology has opened a whole world of possibilities when it comes to utilising digital tools not only in our daily lives but also across industry.
From making the most of the digitisation of building documentation and offering viable solutions to mitigate fire risk, the use of AR and VR in the fire safety sector is nothing short of transformative.
About the Author: Aisha Farooq, F&RM deputy editor at the FPA
Aisha is the Deputy Editor of Fire & Risk Management, having joined the FPA in 2022.
She is a key member of the editorial team, helping produce both the journal and news content for our website, to keep members and clients abreast of key industry developments.