FIRE AR Case Study: 6 Months After Her AR Fire Training, She Puts Out a Real Fire

There is a moment every immersive training solution publisher waits for in silence: the moment when a testimonial proves, concretely, that the training truly prepared the learner to act.

Today, a trainee trained by Preventirisk with FIRE AR gives us that proof.

Six months after her augmented reality fire training, she extinguished a fire at her workplace — without panicking, executing the right moves. Here is why it works, durably.

📋 In brief: Does AR fire training really anchor the right reflexes?

Yes. Valéria, trained by Preventirisk with FIRE AR, independently contained a real fire 6 months after her training, with no intermediate refresher. Proof that immersive training builds lasting automatisms.

• AR training anchors procedural memory: automatic gestures, not theory
• It covers 100% of the fire process vs. 10% for traditional fire training
• It is deployed directly in the learner's real workplace
• Measured effectiveness: 275% more confident after immersive training (PwC, 2020)

A testimonial that proves the effectiveness of augmented reality fire training

Video

Valéria is Office Manager at ManoMano. In 2025, she attends a mandatory fire training in Paris, run by Preventirisk. The training includes fire start exercises using an augmented reality fire simulator — designed to anchor the right reflexes in memory, within the employee's real environment. Like all trainees that day, Valéria asks herself: "When it's real, how will I react?"

Six months later, the real-life situation presents itself.

Lunch break at ManoMano's offices. Valéria is eating when a colleague alerts her: a microwave is catching fire in the kitchen. Her reaction is immediate — she gets up, assesses the flames, and acts methodically, without hesitation:

1. She unplugs the power to cut the electricity and eliminate the electrical risk.
2. She grabs the nearest CO₂ extinguisher for the electrical fire.
3. She pulls the pin at a safe distance and attacks the base of the flames.
4. The fire is contained within seconds, without spreading.

Her account after the incident:

I felt at ease. I made the right decisions thanks to the augmented reality simulations used by the trainer.

Valéria, Office Manager at ManoMano

The memory trigger. What she experienced in training comes back instantly — not as a theoretical memory, but as an automatism:

During my augmented reality exercise, I had learned to pull the pin, the right position, and the distance to use. When I found myself in the real situation, it immediately reactivated my memory.

Valéria, Office Manager at ManoMano

This reaction is not luck. It is concrete proof that knowledge transfer by an expert trainer, combined with the pedagogical power of an immersive solution, produces lasting automatisms — reflexes that activate when it truly matters.

And her conclusion, six months after the training, is clear:

You always worry: if it really happens, how will I react? Well, the reflex just kicks in immediately.

Valéria, Office Manager at ManoMano

Why augmented reality fire training durably anchors the right reflexes

If a trainee is able to act with such precision several months after training, without any intermediate refresher, it is not a coincidence. It is the result of four pedagogical principles that augmented reality applies simultaneously.

1. Living the fire, not just studying it

In classical training, people read, listen, watch. The brain activates declarative memory — the memory of knowledge — which erodes rapidly over time.

With immersive training, the learner acts in an environment perceived as real by the brain. Procedural memory takes over: the memory of gestures, far more resistant to forgetting.

This is precisely the mechanism of memory anchoring: associating a skill with a lived experience, so that it remains available months later.

STAT 3.75x | more emotionally engaged | PwC Study, 2020

STAT +30% | retention vs. PowerPoint | Parong & Mayer, 2018

Immersion allows learners to focus 100% on the exercise, significantly improving memory anchoring. We retain more when we see, when we do, and when we feel like we are living the situation.

Nicolas Poussart, founder of Preventirisk, former Paris firefighter.

2. Training in the real work environment

The great strength of augmented reality: superimposing a virtual fire directly in the everyday setting (office, kitchen, corridor, workshop). The brain then associates the right gestures with a specific spatial context. When an incident occurs in that space, the association automatically reactivates.

Moreover, on-site training allows integrating the company's own safety instructions: extinguisher locations, evacuation plan, specific alarm, assembly point. No transition phase needed between training and the real situation.

With virtualised extinguishers faithfully reproducing real models (weight, pin-pulling, nozzle), the learned gestures are immediately transferable.

STAT 275% | more confident in applying what they learned | PwC Study, 2020

3. Covering 100% of the fire process

Traditional fire training — as detailed in our fire training solutions comparison — only trains for one phase: extinction. That's approximately 10% of the real fire process. Everything else (detect, alert, evacuate, reach the assembly point) remains theoretical. Augmented reality radically changes this: a single scenario allows trainees to experience the entire fire process.

• Detect the fire
• Trigger the alarm and alert emergency services
• Evacuate according to the company's plan
• Act on the fire with the right extinguisher
• Reach the assembly point

The difference is fundamental: training no longer focuses on an isolated gesture — it trains for a complete situation. This is what transforms training into real operational competence.

4. Repeating the gesture without constraints

With traditional fire training, each trainee goes through only once. Beyond that, constraints accumulate: consumables, waiting time, weather, travel, extinguisher recharging.

With augmented reality, trainees repeat as many times as needed until the gesture becomes automatic. This repetition is precisely the key to procedural memorisation.

This is also the core principle of the FEST method: learning in the real context, with real tools, through guided repetition. This pedagogical approach produces measurable results in the field.

STAT 30 to 43% | reduction in accidents after immersive safety training | Nature Scientific Reports, 2025

BANNIERE-MID : FIRE AR

FIRE AR, a fire simulator built for lasting results

FIRE AR is IRWINO's augmented reality fire simulator, designed for trainers and training organisations who want to produce tangible results in the field.

Using a Meta Quest 3 headset and virtualised extinguishers reproducing real models, FIRE AR enables training directly on the workplace, without toxic fumes, without consumables, with deployment in under 3 minutes.

The solution is currently used by more than 150 trainers in France and has already trained more than 25,000 trainees. It counts the BNF, the Senate, the National Assembly, and the Château de Fontainebleau among its references.

Compliant with the Labour Code, it is designed for all organisations looking to renew their pedagogical approach to fire training.

Preventirisk, the training organisation behind this result

Preventirisk is a training organisation specialising in professional risk prevention, founded by Nicolas Poussart, a former Paris firefighter turned expert trainer. Since 2017, Preventirisk has established itself as one of the pioneers of immersive training in France, integrating virtual and augmented reality tools into its fire and workplace safety programmes from a very early stage.

What distinguishes Preventirisk is the rare combination of professional firefighter field expertise and genuine mastery of immersive pedagogical tools. Nicolas Poussart trains teams across all sectors (tertiary, industry, logistics, ERP), applying a pedagogy based on memory anchoring and real-world immersion.

Their track record:

STAT +15,000 | trainees trained |

STAT 9.7/10 | satisfaction rating | 2025

STAT 400+ | Google reviews ⭐ 5/5 |

The effect is immediate! As soon as the person puts on the FIRE AR headset, they are immersed in the situation and instinctively know what to do.

Nicolas Poussart, Preventirisk.

This testimonial is not an isolated case

The story of this trainee trained by Preventirisk adds to several similar accounts collected over the past few months.

• Decathlon Avry Centre employee, trained by a trainer equipped with FIRE AR: 24 hours after her immersive training, she contained a lithium battery fire in time and prevented it from spreading.
• Energy sector learner, trained by a trainer equipped with FIRE VR: a radiator fire handled alone, thanks to the confidence gained in simulation.

"Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action." The maxim, popularised by Ian Fleming, applies here to the letter. Three cases, with the same effectiveness: a fire contained in time and safely, lasting automatisms that activate at the right moment. This is no longer a promise — it is a field observation.

Conclusion

The testimonial of this trainee trained by Preventirisk with FIRE AR is not an anecdote. It is the concrete demonstration of a pedagogical principle validated by neuroscience and confirmed by studies: immersive training, when delivered by an expert trainer and deployed in the learner's real environment, produces lasting automatisms. Thank you to Preventirisk, Nicolas Poussart, and the trainee for sharing this experience.

BANNIERE-FIN : FIRE AR

Key takeaways

Is augmented reality really effective for fire training?

Yes, and several studies confirm it. Learners in immersive training are 275% more confident in applying what they learned (PwC, 2020), and immersive safety programmes are associated with a reduction of 30 to 43% in workplace accidents.

Do the reflexes learned in FIRE AR training last?

Yes, this is precisely what the case of this trainee trained by Preventirisk demonstrates: she extinguished a fire six months after her training, with no intermediate refresher.

Is AR fire training more effective than traditional fire training?

On pedagogical effectiveness, yes. Traditional fire training only trains for the extinction phase (approximately 10% of the real fire process) in a car park, out of context. Augmented reality covers 100% of the process, in the learner's real environment.

How do I equip my training organisation with augmented reality?

The best entry point is a personalised demonstration. You can contact us to schedule a free demo, receive the commercial brochure and a quote tailored to your activity. More than 150 trainers in France already use FIRE AR in their fire training sessions.