AI can draft policies, build schedules, analyze data, and write the reports that can fill most of a chief officer’s week. That’s not a prediction, it’s happening in departments right now.
So the question isn’t whether AI can do the job. We need to know what’s left when it does.
That question became this book, How to Replace Your Fire Chief With AI: A Story-Driven Guide to Leadership and AI for the Fire Service. The Kindle edition is available for pre-order now, and both the paperback and Kindle editions release on October 27, 2026.
What the Book Is
The book follows Fire Chiefs through the year an AI system arrives in their department. In the first part, the AI is doing the Chief’s job well: administrative work, data analysis, training assessments, strategic planning. In the second part, it reaches what it can’t do. It can’t make the 2 a.m. notification, read the tone and emotion in a council chamber, fix a station’s culture, or make the call when the numbers are right and the answer is wrong. The third part is about what comes next: building the workflows, staying relevant, and protecting the time AI gives back for the work only an experienced human can do.
Along the way you’ll meet leaders who have learned to treat change as part of the job, and others who aren’t waiting for the title to start leading.
Each chapter closes with a short For the Reader section of questions and challenges built to be used, not skimmed.
Who It’s For
Fire chiefs, chief officers, company officers, and anyone preparing for the next seat, whether you’re excited about AI, skeptical of it, or still deciding. It’s written for municipal, combination, volunteer, and industrial departments alike.
What’s Inside
- Eleven chapters in three parts
- A plain-language AI glossary for fire service leaders
- A reference guide to AI tools and actions for fire service administration
- A personal adaptability self-assessment
- Recommended reading and the research behind the book
Thank You
Life isn’t a solo project and this book isn’t either. Thank you to the firefighters, officers, and colleagues whose questions and conversations helped shape these ideas, and to everyone who read early drafts and told me what was and wasn’t working.
Pre-Order and Release Details
- Kindle ($9.99): available for pre-order now. Your copy is delivered to your device on release day.
- Paperback ($19.99): available October 27.
- Release date: October 27, 2026, for both editions.
While you wait, the free adaptability self-assessment from the book is available now at chiefbot9000.com.
The system can’t go to the station, sit with the family, or have the hard conversation. You can. I hope this book helps you spend more of your time doing exactly that while embracing what you can do with the system.
— Alex
