The chlorine gas plume billows across the screen, a toxic yellow-green cloud driven by a persistent digital wind.
As it does, retired firefighter Jack Lopez explains how these virtual scenarios will save lives.
Through detailed “digital twins,” first responders can now train to fight fires and respond to disasters in any area of the world under virtually any conditions.
“We’re not trying to replace reality, because we can’t,” he said. “But what we are trying to do is instead of trying to prepare for every possibility, maybe you just prepare for the probabilities.”
Lopez, whose company Emergency Response Simulations moved to UCF’s business incubator this summer, has created a platform that allows users to build digital twins of disasters, creating scenarios that allow for emergency personnel to train for any mission.
He credited the incubator program with enabling him to quickly find local talent and build a network in Orlando.
Using an underlying engine developed for the military, ERSIMS can replicate large-scale incidents like chemical plant leaks, train derailments and even terrorist attacks.
So far, Lopez has received inquiries from several agencies.
So far, the needs for those interested range from hazmat scenarios and flood response.
A career built for saving lives
Lopez spent 26 years as a firefighter before retiring as a captain who specialized in urban search and rescue.
Throughout his career, he noticed a paradox emerge: while advancements in building codes and fire prevention were a victory for public safety, they created a growing challenge for training.
With fewer active fires, the next generation of firefighters lacked the critical, on-the-job experience he had.
Lopez also knew that traditional live-burn facilities couldn’t fill the gap.
Physical training grounds lose their realism with every repeated use.
A building can only be “destroyed” a finite number of times before it’s no longer useful, he said.
ERSIMS, however, offers a solution to both problems, providing an infinite and ever-changing training ground.
“I can’t give you fires out on the street so that you can build up your knowledge,” Lopez said. “But I can put you through hundreds of scenarios in a simulation program where I can at least get you to think about what could potentially happen.”
ERSIMS’ core technology is a military-grade simulation engine that allows for large-scale, multi-agency scenarios anywhere in the world.
The system integrates real-world scientific models, such as EPA and NOAA’s jointly developed and widely used ALOHA model for chemical plumes.
That provides the authoritative backbone for the platform’s hazmat training.
The ERSIMS system gives instructors full control over environmental variables like wind and weather. This allows agencies to prepare for incidents with a level of fidelity and scale previously impossible without expensive live exercises.
The sophisticated technology Lopez built is a direct result of two key personal moments that shaped his career.
The personal connection of an idea
Initially, the idea was sparked by a simple observation in the firehouse: younger crew members spent hours playing video games in VR during their downtime.
He figured the immersive nature of VR could be a powerful teaching tool.
“The level of immersion is really what gets them,” he said. “If I could get them to play a video game or a serious game, then introduce things like tactics, what would that look like? That became very compelling to me.”
But a chat with his son, a U.S. Navy officer, cemented the core idea of the mission.
His son described a training program that replayed two real-life ship collisions.
After watching everything that happened on the bridge up until the collision, trainees were put in a simulation and given a simple command: “Don’t crash the ship.”
This moment was a revelation for Lopez; if the military could use past tragedies as a way to train its future leaders, he realized, the fire service could do the same with incidents like the Delaware fire.
A new standard for safety
In 2016, three firefighters died in Wilmington, Del., in a rowhouse fire that investigators later blamed on arson.
In its report, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health cited “inappropriate fireground tactics for below-grade fire.”
The report also cited a “lack of professional development for fire officers and firefighters” as contributing factors.
“We can take that tragedy and bring it to life in a way that allows us to train without loss of life,” Lopez said. “We can create the exact conditions, the floor collapse, and the specific dangers that led to that outcome. Our mission is to learn from the past to save lives in the future.”
This approach offers fire departments more than just a training tool.
It also provides a more efficient and safer way to prepare for the unexpected.
“It saves the departments a lot of money to be able to do it this way,” he said. “One click, it all comes back, and none of your guys got hurt during training.”