Wearable tech: Balancing innovation and firefighter privacy

https://www.firerescue1.com/technology/wearable-tech-balancing-innovation-and-firefighter-privacy

Publish Date: 2026-06-01 12:02:00

As technology evolves, so too must the practices and policies that govern its use. In recent decades, the fire service has adopted tools like location tracking at incident scenes, remote SCBA monitoring, and live-streaming from thermal imagers. These advancements have expanded our operational capabilities and given incident commanders (ICs) a more comprehensive view of unfolding events.

Now, we’re entering the era of wearable technology. Smartwatches, rings and fitness monitors are increasingly common, and products are available today that enable fire service leaders to monitor health data in real time. But with these new tools come important questions, particularly around privacy, policies and firefighter autonomy.

Survey results reveal why many fireground tools struggle to gain traction — and what it takes for technology to become part of standard operations

October 13, 2025 01:46 PM

Divergent views in the fire service

A recent study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health gathered insights from 65 fire service stakeholders across Maryland and Virginia. It revealed a notable divide between frontline firefighters and department leaders regarding wearable technology and real-time data collection.

While leaders generally supported the operational use of wearable tech, frontline personnel were more cautious, supporting its use in training and non-operational settings but expressing concern about its application during live…

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