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Articles by Kirk McKinzie
Fire response is infrastructure. Cities should treat it that way.
Listen to the article 6 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Captain (Ret.) Kirk McKinzie is a 37-year fire service veteran and president of McKinzie SMART Technologies. Fire departments are among the most visible services a city provides — and among the least modernized. City leaders are often surprised to learn how much of fire department operations still run on periodic, paper-based equipment checks.
Writing a Technology Plan: How, When, and Why
A strategic technology plan can facilitate the adoption of advanced tools like drones, AI, and IoT systems to enhance operational efficiency. Public-private partnerships can provide valuable resources and support for implementing new technologies in fire and EMS operations. Key recommendations for technology planning include conducting tech audits, prioritizing network resiliency, and leveraging grants.
NextGen Tech Summit at FDIC 2026
The NextGen Tech Summit at FDIC 2026 consisted of two days in a room full of chiefs, operators, and technologists who take this work seriously. Here is what stood out. The 2026 NextGen Fire Rescue Tech Summit ran a consistent thread across both days: Artificial intelligence. Real-time analytics. Data-driven decision making on the fireground. These topics were paired with hands-on time on robotics, drones, and VR/AR.
Breaking the Physics Barrier: How Heavy-Lift Capable Drones and SkyCommand Are Redefining Aerial Situational Awareness for Fire, Rescue, and EMS
Every fire chief, incident commander (IC), and paramedic knows the universal truth: Time saves lives. Whether it is a brush fire moving at 20 miles per hour (mph), a lost hiker whose trail has gone cold, or a patient needing critical medical supplies in gridlocked traffic, the value of actionable, real-time information and on-hand equipment cannot be overstated. Across the United States, agencies are rethinking how to achieve that awareness more quickly and safely.
The Evolution of Firefighting Tools: A Perspective on Technology and Tradition
In the realm of public safety, where rapid technological advancements constantly redefine the parameters of service and rescue, the echoes of the past may provide a grounding perspective. Fire service members with decades of experience reflect on times when equipment and techniques were starkly different. Veteran firefighters recall tales from the “old-timers” days when crew members clung to the tailboard and sat exposed without radios or headphones.
Advanced Aerial Mobility and Intelligent First Response Solutions
BY KIRK McKINZIE AND JOHNNY DOO As air-rescue operations have continually evolved from the early days of military helicopter rescues to today's established flight medic programs with enhanced payload aircraft, it is time to usher in cutting-edge vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that integrate advanced air mobility (AAM) with artificial intelligence (AI).
Next-Gen Public Safety
BY KIRK McKINZIE and TINKLE MITTAL APPROXIMATELY HALF of the world’s population is connected to 18 billion devices, creating dynamic and evolving digital risk-benefit scenarios with various connectivity options, including LTE, 800 MHz, VHF, satellite-based, and mesh-networked. Many fire and rescue professionals are part of a computer-aided dispatch system, where a caller can send text images or video directly to dispatch.
EMS Aircraft Points to Potential Future of EMS Operations
I recall when the William Perry Shultz Training Center in Elk Grove, California, was being planned back in 1995. The developing vision of the future included the current formal training grounds with a proper tower and props for live burns, confined space, vertical ventilation, and confined space rescue. Fast forward 30 years, and a lot has changed in southern Sacramento County, driven in large part by the ever-increasing 911 call volume from 2,750 instances in 1995 to 24,609 in 2024.
Integrating Smart Command Vehicles for Enhanced Connectivity and Efficiency
By Kirk McKinzie and Kevin Sofen In the rapidly evolving landscape of emergency services, integrating advanced technological solutions stands at the forefront of transforming operations and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of fire, rescue, and emergency medical service (EMS) teams.
The Language Modernization of the Fire Rescue and EMS Services
For decades, we’ve debated how emergency response units should be identified in a specific format when communicating on land mobile radio (LMR). Depending on a jurisdiction’s colloquialisms, it can be listed in many possible ways: Apparatus type (engine, truck/ladder, rescue, squad). Station number.
Opportunities, Challenges, and Current Value in Fire and Rescue Operations
By Kirk McKinzie and Manon Vermenouze Robots are gaining international popularity among emergency response agencies, with the use of robots in the fire and rescue industry becoming increasingly common, offering a host of potential benefits to personnel and departments alike.
A fire department’s experience with immersive learning and virtual reality
California’s Cosumnes Fire Department shares its experience incorporating virtual reality into recruit training By Kirk McKinzie, Julie Rider and Justin Quarisa In the beginning, there was View-Master.
How the Cosumnes Fire Department Incorporates Virtual Reality into Its Fire Academy Training
Do you remember your fire academy? The intensity of the physical training, the timed pressure to dress in turnouts, raising ladders, forcing the door, and advancing hoselines? The countless hours of classroom learning, waiting for the chance to come face-to-face with the fire? What about gearing up in your turnouts and wearing your self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for your first exposure to fire?
The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Firefighting
On September 19, 2018 Cosumnes Fire Departmentcqrdxeqsbebfvz reported to a series of fully-involved structure fires in Elk Grove, California. The crews were met with smoke pushing out around the doors and signs that the fire was ventilation limited. Command assigned crews to open the roof, creating a flow path that quickly changed the tenability of the compartment. The hose crew stood by at the door awaiting further instructions.
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