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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now a reality across the public safety landscape, and the UK fire and rescue services are no exception. The potential of AI lies not just in technical efficiency, but in its capacity to amplify frontline intelligence, improve foresight and unlock new ways of protecting communities. Yet to fully realise this promise, we must do more than acquire new tools. We must adopt a clear doctrine, a principled and coherent approach that enables AI to serve the mission, support our people and strengthen public trust.
This article by Dr. Frank Long and Gillian Fyfe explores how AI can be used to innovate operations across the UK.
Doctrinal thinking has long been a bedrock of operational excellence in our sector. It establishes shared values, coherent principles and structured decision-making in the face of complexity. The same must now be applied to digital innovation. Without doctrine, AI risks becoming fragmented, misunderstood or misapplied. With it, we can ensure AI is not only effective but also inclusive, explainable and aligned with our public service ethos.
A strong AI doctrine gives clarity of purpose. It demands that every tool deployed directly supports life-saving outcomes, community safety or firefighter wellbeing. Whether it’s predictive modelling to target fire prevention efforts, dynamic resource planning to improve response, or AI-enhanced surveillance to detect hazards early, the aim must be clear: to enhance, not replace, the professionalism and judgment of our people.
Crucially, doctrinal frameworks can enable something transformative: the democratisation of AI within services. AI, used wisely, can empower everyone, from call handlers to prevention staff to incident commanders. It can provide timely insights, automate routine burdens, and help people make faster, better-informed decisions on the ground. But this cannot be delivered by technology alone. It requires leadership willing to delegate insight and authority, even when it feels uncomfortable, and to back that trust with training, support and clear boundaries.
Such empowerment must be scaffolded by robust structures. Governance, culture and ethics are what transform AI from a disruptive risk into a trusted asset. Transparent governance should set clear standards for how AI is procured, validated and monitored. Algorithmic decisions must be auditable, explainable and always subject to human oversight. Openness with both staff and communities is essential, explaining what systems do, how they work, and what safeguards are in place. Trust is the currency of public safety, and it must be actively earned.
NFCC’s response: leadership, ethics and strategy
That’s why the National Fire Chiefs Council has stepped up, not just to respond to AI, but to shape its role in our sector.
Last year, the NFCC launched the AI and Digital Ethics Framework, guiding fire and rescue services on the ethical use of AI. Grounded in principles of transparency, inclusion, fairness and safety, it draws from public sector experience and international standards, but is tailored to our operational realities: frontline trust, public legitimacy and risk-critical environments. This is more than a policy, it is a working foundation, helping services assess tools, shape procurement and train staff to identify bias or blind spots. The NFCC is also working with the Fire Standards Board to embed these principles into Fire Standards, not as an isolated standard, but as a core expectation across all services.
The NFCC is also aligning with DSIT’s AI Cyber Guidelines, ensuring our future systems are not only capable but secure. As predictive analytics and AI-supported triage emerge, it is vital they are transparent in their reasoning, secure against manipulation and fully auditable. This is how public trust is maintained and operational confidence assured.
To prevent a fragmented future, the NFCC is producing strategic handrails that enable services to engage with AI confidently, ethically and proportionately. These documents promote “interoperability by design,” ensuring we avoid a patchwork of incompatible systems. They set minimum expectations for governance, transparency and oversight, while identifying best practice use cases and defining where national consistency is essential. They are a compass, not a cage supporting both innovators and those still building digital maturity.
Supporting this work is a growing network of national AI working groups, bringing together technical experts, analysts, operational leads, policy professionals and service users. These groups address areas such as ethics and digital inclusion, generative AI, cyber security and AI in training and development forming the beating heart of the UK FRS AI community. However, these groups require services to get involved and we are always looking for more members to get involved so as a call to action please consider if this is something you may be interested in and get in contact with us at DDaT@nfcc.co.uk.
Doctrine, leadership and the road ahead
The NFCC’s approach exemplifies what doctrinal adoption of AI should look like: principled, inclusive, and nationally aligned, while allowing local innovation. By embedding AI within a clear ethical and operational framework, services can innovate without sacrificing trust, interoperability or fairness.
The fireground may evolve. The technology may change. But with doctrine, culture and leadership as our foundation and with national coordination through bodies like the NFCC, we can ensure AI strengthens our purpose and keeps those we serve safer, better informed, and more supported than ever before.
The industry will once again be gathering at the NEC, Birmingham for The Emergency Tech Show, co-located with The Emergency Services Show, on 17-18 September, check out the full exhibitor list here.
Don’t miss: Confident approaches to using AI in fire and rescue services – 18 Sept, 14:45 – 15:30, Emergency Tech Leaders’ Stage. Join the National Fire Chiefs Council, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Amazon Web Services and Northamptonshire Police and Fire Rescue Service as they explore how AI can drive efficiency, improve public safety, and free up staff for more innovative work. More information can be found here.
