ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Some incidents happen once in a career. A massive fire with multiple trucks, EMS, and police on scene. When it happens, crews need to be ready. Egi Cuijten of Flashgroup builds virtual reality training for exactly that gap.
Hello Smart Firefighting Community!
Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy.
Recorded at Interschutz 2026 in Hannover, this conversation starts with a simple point. In virtual reality training, the most important word is training.
Egi explains how VR lets a young firefighter make mistakes safely, see how smoke and oxygen behave, and learn from a trainer's decades of experience. It does not replace live fire. It fills the space between the classroom and the burn building.
Topics covered:
- Why training matters more than the virtual part
- The space between classroom theory and live fire
- High-risk, low-frequency incidents and multi-agency response
- From PC and tablet simulation to mobile VR headsets
- Passing a veteran trainer's knowledge to young firefighters
- Fire dynamics in VR: smoke, temperature, and oxygen
- Why a trainee sees nothing until they kneel below the smoke layer
- Nozzle, extinguisher, and firearm controllers for multi-discipline training
- AI characters, virtual commanders, and the next five years
- Plug and train: how Flashgroup started during COVID and reached more than 20 countries
So take a listen to hear what he has to share.
Head to www.smartfirefighting.com to discover how SFF accelerates innovation for emergency responders, to find out when our next event is, or review our curated resources.
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