Ring, the Amazon-owned video doorbell company, is launching a new AI-powered wildfire detection feature in partnership with Watch Duty, the nonprofit wildfire tracking app that became essential during the devastating Los Angeles fires in January 2025. The announcement comes as Ring founder and CEO Jamie Siminoff returns to lead the company after the Palisades fire destroyed the garage where he originally founded Ring in 2012.
The new feature, called Fire Watch, will use artificial intelligence to analyze video footage from Ring cameras to detect smoke and fires in real-time. When Watch Duty identifies a wildfire in an area, Ring users will receive alerts and their outdoor cameras will automatically scan for signs of fire using AI technology. Ring Protect subscribers can opt in to share images from their cameras with Watch Duty, which will review and moderate the submissions before sharing relevant updates publicly.
Over 10,000 Ring cameras were located in the burn zone during the Palisades fire, according to Siminoff, who noted that “one of the biggest problems was not knowing” what was happening during the chaotic event. The partnership aims to fill critical information gaps that made it difficult for first responders and residents to understand how fires were spreading at street level, particularly in canyons and hilly neighborhoods.
John Mills, cofounder and CEO of Watch Duty, explained that the app was overwhelmed during the LA fires, handling “100,000 requests a second” as thousands of Angelenos sought real-time information. While Watch Duty’s network of mountaintop cameras can spot smoke plumes, they often miss what’s happening at ground level. Ring’s doorbell cameras could help provide that street-level visibility.
Siminoff’s personal connection to the project runs deep. He was out of town when the Palisades fire broke out, but rushed back to find his home on fire. He and neighbors fought blazes throughout the community, making triage decisions about which fires to tackle. The experience was “like being in the fog of war,” he said. Less than three months after the fires, Siminoff returned as Ring CEO after writing to Amazon leadership, including CEO Andy Jassy and founder Jeff Bezos, with his vision for using Ring technology to fight wildfires.
As part of the partnership, Ring is donating $1 million to Watch Duty. Both organizations emphasized that the system would not automatically access users’ cameras but would alert them during fire emergencies and ask if they want to help by providing data. Siminoff believes that while people may not want to grant access to their data all the time, many would opt in during specific emergencies to help their communities.
Key Quotes
Over 10,000 Ring cameras were in the burn zone, and one of the biggest problems was not knowing
Jamie Siminoff, Ring’s founder and CEO, explained the information gap that existed during the Palisades fire, highlighting why AI-powered detection could make a difference in future wildfire events.
Maybe actually, it wasn’t just a resource issue. Maybe it was an information issue
Siminoff reflected on his experience fighting fires in the Palisades, suggesting that better information through AI-powered cameras could help direct firefighting efforts more effectively, even when resources are limited.
In these wind-driven fire events, these fires are starting miles ahead of the flame front because embers, the size of footballs sometimes, are getting tossed miles in advance
John Mills, CEO of Watch Duty, explained why street-level camera detection is crucial, as mountaintop cameras often miss the ember-driven spot fires that can ignite miles ahead of the main fire front.
If you could have stopped one house from burning down, that’s a family
Siminoff emphasized the human impact of the partnership, noting that even saving a single home through better AI-powered fire detection would make the effort worthwhile.
Our Take
This partnership marks an important milestone in applying AI technology to climate disaster response, moving beyond the typical commercial applications of smart home devices. The use of machine learning algorithms to detect smoke and fire in real-time video feeds demonstrates how existing consumer IoT infrastructure can be rapidly repurposed for public safety. What’s particularly noteworthy is the opt-in, community-driven approach that respects privacy while enabling collective action during emergencies. The timing of Siminoff’s return to Ring specifically to pursue this initiative underscores how personal experience with disaster can drive technological innovation. However, the success of this system will depend heavily on the accuracy of the AI detection algorithms and user adoption rates. False positives could lead to alert fatigue, while false negatives could prove dangerous. The partnership also raises questions about the role of private companies in public safety infrastructure and whether such systems should eventually be integrated into official emergency response frameworks.
Why This Matters
This partnership represents a significant evolution in how AI technology can be deployed for public safety and disaster response. The integration of artificial intelligence into consumer home security devices for wildfire detection demonstrates how existing IoT infrastructure can be repurposed to address urgent climate-related challenges. With wildfires becoming more frequent and destructive due to climate change, the ability to detect fires at street level using AI-powered camera networks could provide critical early warning systems that complement traditional firefighting resources.
The collaboration also highlights a growing trend of AI applications moving beyond commercial uses into life-saving emergency response scenarios. By leveraging machine learning to analyze video footage for smoke and fire signatures, Ring is creating a distributed sensor network that could help first responders understand fire spread patterns in real-time. This citizen-powered approach to disaster response, enabled by AI, could become a model for other emergency situations. The fact that over 10,000 Ring cameras were already in the Palisades burn zone demonstrates the potential scale of such networks. If successful, this initiative could influence how other smart home companies and municipalities approach wildfire preparedness and response.