Carmel Fire Department AR helmet pilot halves firefighter search time

Background

The Carmel Fire Department (CFD) in Indiana is piloting augmented reality helmet technology for active firefighting operations, becoming the only department in the Midwest to adopt the platform. Carmel is one of ten U.S. departments chosen for early access through Qwake Technologies' Pioneer Program, a nationwide deployment designed to shape the technology's eventual wider rollout.

The C-THRU Platform

The C-THRU Navigator is a head-up display unit that mounts to a standard firefighting helmet and deploys a flip-down screen over the user's field of view. It uses proprietary computer vision and edge detection to wireframe a room's geometry in real time, overlaying thermal outlines of people, walls, and doorways onto otherwise pitch-black, smoke-filled conditions. The system delivers turn-by-turn navigation to exits and enables hands-free scene recording for after-action review.

A paired C-THRU Command Tablet streams live helmet video to incident commanders stationed outside the burning structure. Commanders can monitor personnel locations, send visual directions to firefighters' in-helmet displays, and coordinate complex operations in real time.

The underlying technology was developed over more than a decade through a $10 million contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, refined through feedback from thousands of firefighters across many iterations.

Deployment in Carmel

The CFD expects to receive 16 helmets and four command tablets by midsummer 2026. The three-year pilot is funded at approximately $375,000, with more than $200,000 contributed by the Heroes Club of Carmel, a local philanthropic organization. The department plans to integrate the gear into both training exercises and active emergency responses.

Outcomes and Future Capabilities

CFD Chief Joel Thacker cited a significant reduction in primary search time, noting that the technology eliminates the need for firefighters to crawl one-handed through a structure while operating a separate thermal camera. A DHS operational field assessment concluded that C-THRU improved situational awareness and enhanced incident command visibility during simulated smoke drills. Indiana has recorded more than 550 residential fire deaths since 2019, and the CFD expects faster search times to improve survival outcomes for victims and reduce carcinogen exposure for firefighters.

Qwake is continuing software development through the Pioneer Program, including predictive AI tools designed to alert incident commanders when structural collapse is imminent. Work developed in partnership with Carmel is intended to inform the platform's broader global rollout.

Quotes

“It opens up your view; you're able to conduct a search in half the time. In 34 years, I've seen the transition from us having nothing to the thermal cameras that we have now, which are great. But we're crawling into houses on one hand while operating it, and it can be time-consuming.”

“We're using computer vision to wireframe the geometry of the room in real time so you can look around and say there's a path to egress, there's a baby, and allow people to make faster decisions, with the goal of getting in and out, in quite literally, half the time.”

“The combination of data from both of these places allows us to now, say a structure is going to collapse in a few minutes, get out.”

“It gives you not just possibly a body here, or a warm spot here, it outlines it. It's almost like a sci-fi movie. You look at it and you think, this is the future.”