Responsible FireTech Framework and Innovation Playbook
The Responsible FireTech Framework (RFTF), first released in the State of FireTech 2025 Annual Update, will guide development of the international Responsible FireTech Innovation Playbook in 2026-2027.
There is now visible alignment across science, policy, operations, and ethics around the need to modernize how wildfire risk is understood and coordinated. However, historical precedent and the lived experience of frontline operators and communities tells us that better coordination alone is not enough.
In the absence of unified governance frameworks, industry standards, and ethical guardrails, initiatives will continue to face familiar roadblocks: technologies that advance faster than procurement pathways, tools that perform well in pilots but fail under real-world conditions, data systems that can't operate across agencies, and innovations that struggle to earn trust in the absence of meaningful co-development.
This is the gap the Responsible FireTech Innovation Playbook (2026–2027) is designed to fill. Building on the Responsible FireTech Framework (RFTF), longitudinal survey data, & frontline insights from the FireTech Podcast, the Playbook will translate principles into practical guidance — offering shared methodologies, governance models, readiness criteria, and real-world case studies for designing, testing, validating, and scaling FireTech responsibly.
The RFTF was designed to complement Technology Readiness Level's (TRLs), not replace them. TRL's are about assessing technical maturity but RFTF asks the often neglected social, ecological, and operational integrity questions:
Does technology reduce burden for firefighters and communities—or add to it?
Can tech function in dense smoke, low connectivity, and 2am chaos?
Does tech respect Indigenous sovereignty and local knowledge?
Can agencies actually procure, maintain, and sustain new tech?
Does tech strengthen landscapes and institutions, not just dashboards?
The goal is to accelerate innovation at the speed of trust: helping federal and state leaders, innovators, funders, and communities align around common guardrails so that wildfire technologies strengthen people, ecosystems, and institutions — rather than introducing new risks.
The coming years present a rare opportunity to move from fragmented experimentation to a coherent, accountable innovation system for wildfire resilience. Operationalizing the Responsible FireTech Framework through the Responsible FireTech Innovation Playbook is an invitation to build that system together.
Join us! Comment below and we’ll reach out with next steps on how your organization can engage.
