AI firefighting push aims to save lives across UAE

For residents across the UAE, the difference between a fire contained in minutes and one that turns deadly can come down to a handful of moments. That reality is now shaping a federal push to bring artificial intelligence into firefighting and disaster response, with officials promising faster intervention, fewer casualties and better protection for homes and workplaces.

At the centre of the effort is agentic AI, a form of artificial intelligence capable of acting with a degree of independence. Major General Dr Jassim Mohammed Al Marzooqi, Director General of the Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defence, told Gulf News that the new federal authority is rebuilding its operations around the technology. “We are transforming our operations to use agentic AI, so we can improve protection and response,” he said. The payoff, he argued, is directly measurable in human terms: “We can reduce the number of fires and the number of casualties and fatalities.”

The announcement came at a specialised forum organised by the authority in Dubai on Thursday, attended by Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of Health and Prevention and Chairman of the authority. One outcome touches every emirate: each civil defence directorate across the country will now have an AI ambassador. Al Marzooqi, who earlier presented a session titled “Building readiness, leading the future,” explained their job as searching, finding, testing and sharing the best practices for using agentic AI to improve services.

For the public, the most significant shift may be preventive. Once fed certain data, the technology can map hotspots, allowing teams to identify high-risk areas and prepare before an incident occurs. “Protection means you forecast accidents before they happen,” Al Marzooqi said. The goal, he stressed, is not to replace firefighters but to support them with more equipment, more technology and less personal risk. He pointed to chemical accidents involving toxic fumes as an example: “You cannot jeopardise the life of a firefighter by sending him to a place where you know he is going to be injured.” Instead, a robot equipped with sensors can detect the fumes first and then help fight the fire. Drones and robots, he added, are already assisting crews on the ground.

Three projects showcased at the forum offered a preview of what residents and emergency crews can expect. Kashif, developed with Dubai Civil Defence and Dubai AI Campus, is a drone designed to enter a burning building before firefighters do. It must navigate without GPS, withstand extreme temperatures, and locate and assess trapped people. Using multiple sensors, it builds a real-time 3D map of the structure, pinpoints the fire’s location and source, and measures conditions such as oxygen and carbon monoxide levels. Millimetre-wave radar, which relies on high-frequency radio waves, detects trapped people and monitors their vital signs. A carbon-fibre frame and thermal protection allow it to operate in hazardous environments. The data flows to Dubai Civil Defence in real time, helping crews choose the safest route and reach trapped occupants faster.

Firefighter safety is the focus of Najda, a wrist-worn device that guards against heat stress and cardiac emergencies. It monitors vital signs continuously, with AI establishing a personalised baseline for each wearer and flagging abnormal readings. A critical change triggers an SOS alert to the team leader. The device works without an internet connection, displaying alerts on a screen inside the fire truck, and transmits data to headquarters whenever connectivity is available.

The third project, Athar, addresses the first 72 hours after a building collapse, earthquake or similar emergency, when survival chances depend on speed. Small drones and hand-sized rovers locate trapped people and gather information from hazardous or inaccessible areas. Its key innovation is an AI-enabled, self-forming communication network in which each drone or rover acts as a relay when connectivity is weak, allowing the system to operate without GPS, Wi-Fi or existing communications infrastructure. Currently designed with three drones and three rovers, it can scale up as needed.

Lieutenant Colonel Dr Essa Ahmed Al Mutawa, Director of the General Department of Artificial Intelligence and Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Smart Services at Dubai Civil Defence, told Gulf News that local companies are developing the technologies. “They conducted some research and found gaps and challenges facing civil defence. They came up with proof-of-concept models for us to use to fill those gaps,” he explained. The tools will undergo further evaluation and a pilot project before deployment in real-world operations.

Al Marzooqi said the authority is piloting and investing in these technologies, with teams working alongside universities and private companies. Al Mutawa added that the door remains open to more partners: “We welcome all companies that have ideas on how we can reduce fire incidents and save people.”