For more than a decade now, we’ve benefited from ‘smart’ fire-safety technology – connected alarms, digital dashboards, remote sensors, and automated alerts.
These devices have undoubtedly saved lives. They notify. They inform. They react.
But they are not enough – too many lives are still being lost.
To truly protect people and buildings from fire, safety systems need more than connectivity and data. They need intelligent fire-prevention technology that can think, learn, and act – detecting issues before they become emergencies, and dealing with them when they do.
This is the shift now taking place in fire-safety technology. The future is not just smart. It’s intelligent, autonomous, and connected. Detection is too late. Prevention has to be built in.
The problem: data without action
Smoke detectors are a vital invention. Since their introduction in the early 20th century, they’ve saved countless lives. Today’s versions are smarter than ever – sending alerts to your phone, activating strobe lighting for those with hearing impairments, and even being able to distinguish steam from smoke to reduce false alarms.
But there are also some very important things that smoke detectors cannot do.
They cannot tell you where the smoke is coming from or what’s causing it. They cannot do anything to improve the situation or prevent it happening in the first place. They can only sound the alarm and hope someone responds in time.
And this isn’t just a limitation of smoke detectors. It’s something we see across all traditional fire-safety technology – systems that can detect and warn us about dangers but do virtually nothing to stop them.
At Ci Global we believe simply sounding the alarm is not enough. As the threat of fire increases, we need safety systems that work proactively – identifying and eliminating risks before they escalate. Most people still assume alarms are enough. They’re not.
The solution: connected AI + IA
Connected fire-prevention technology is not a pipe dream. In fact, it’s already here. Today’s most advanced systems combine AI and cloudless IA to learn, decide, and act in real time, stopping threats before they become emergencies.
Let’s break down the two key components:
AI (artificial intelligence)
You can think of AI as the brain of the system. By continuously analysing sensor data, it detects patterns, spots anomalies, and learns over time. In this way, it becomes increasingly accurate at predicting risks that could become problems.
One example is our ThermalVision™ technology, which tracks micro-thermal changes inside electrical components, giving the AI early warning of faults long before they become dangerous.
IA (intelligent autonomy)
Intelligent autonomy is what enables the system to take immediate, independent action. For example, it might shut off power, isolate affected zones, or notify emergency responders – all without having to wait for human or AI input.
If AI thinks, IA acts – instantly, even offline.
When paired together, AI and IA create a closed-loop safety system – sensing, analysing, deciding, and acting automatically. They don’t report danger. They remove it.
Here’s what that looks like in practice.
How Ci Global uses AI + IA
Here are a few of the ways we use AI and IA in our prevention-first fire and building safety system, Ci Safe:
Early anomaly detection
AI analyses electrical and thermal patterns from every Ci socket and sensor – learning what normal behaviour looks like and identifying early signs of overheating, arcing or unusual loading before they escalate.
At the same time, IA operates locally at the device level, meaning it can act instantly even if the building or local wireless network is offline.
This early intelligence is what allows Ci Safe to prevent electrical fires long before traditional safety systems would notice a problem.
Power cut-off
Our IA technology operates at the socket level, stopping electrical fires before they start. Each socket can take independent action, instantly cutting power if it detects overheating, overload, or electrical arcing – preventing ignition at the source.
Live situational intelligence
Our live dashboard, Ci GlobalView, provides fire services and building safety managers with real-time insights during emergencies. The AI continuously analyses sensor data from across locations, identifying patterns and improving its predictive accuracy over time. The result: responders receive clearer, faster intelligence when it matters most.
Predictive modelling
Two key Ci Safe components use AI-powered modelling to support emergency decision-making:
Ci SafeMap creates a live digital twin of the building, using AI-analysed sensor data to highlight risk zones and show optimal evacuation routes.
Ci Pathfinder uses AI-informed hazard data to provide laser guidance for fire crews and occupants – projecting real-time exit and firefighting paths on floors and walls, even in low or zero visibility.
Connected and independent
AI and IA work together to form a connected fire-protection system – but each layer can operate independently when required.
The AI layer runs in the cloud, analysing sensor data across sites to learn, predict and refine prevention strategies.
The IA layer sits locally, taking instant action without relying on the cloud – including when Wi-Fi or external connectivity is unavailable.
Human + machine: the ultimate fire-protection team
To be clear: our technology is designed not to replace fire-safety professionals or traditional fire-safety systems, but to support and strengthen them both.
AI in fire safety supports human decision-making, giving emergency responders a clearer, data-driven picture of what’s happening on the ground. IA acts instantly to neutralise risks before they escalate, buying valuable time for experts to assess, intervene and find long-term solutions.
Humans are extraordinarily skilled, adaptable and intuitive. But no person can monitor thousands of data points every second or watch every socket in every building 24/7. That’s where automated intelligent systems like Ci Safe add value.
Our mission is to complement human expertise – creating a partnership where technology handles what machines do best, people focus on what humans do best, and together they build a safer, more reliable fire-protection system.
Changing risk landscape: why proactive protection matters more than ever
Intelligent fire-prevention technology couldn’t be arriving at a more critical moment.
Cities are growing denser. Infrastructure is ageing. Electrical fire risks are accelerating. The threat landscape is expanding faster than traditional, reactive approaches can handle. Simply detecting and responding is no longer enough.
Modern fire-safety systems need AI-driven, prevention-first capability. We need systems that can anticipate risk and act early. Prevention, not just reaction.
For organisations investing in connected autonomy, the benefits are immediate and far-reaching: safer buildings, lower recovery and clean-up costs, stronger resilience, and – above all – greater protection for the people who live and work inside these spaces. Stronger peace of mind today. Smarter, safer cities tomorrow.
Join the move to self-protecting building intelligence
The days of watching and waiting for disaster to strike are behind us. The future of fire protection belongs to systems that learn, adapt, and act early –protecting people long before danger appears.
For those working in fire engineering, facilities management or smart infrastructure, the direction of travel is clear: AI and intelligent autonomy will define the next era of building safety.
Self-protecting buildings represent the next step in fire-prevention technology. Our focus is to help make that possible – creating environments that don’t just react to danger, but stay ahead of it.
Because the future of fire safety isn’t reactive – it’s intelligent. And that’s the future we’re building.
