At four in the morning, Myke Cole’s pager woke him.
Within minutes, the volunteer firefighter reached a burning house in New York’s Hudson Valley. Flames were blasting through the roof, and only a handful of firefighters had arrived.
In a recent Wall Street Journal essay, Cole described the challenge facing his crew. Every available person mattered, but someone needed to check every side of the building.
A fire visible from the street might hide another danger behind the house. Getting that information takes time and pulls someone away from other urgent work.
Cole wished he had a drone that could help.
Drones can give firefighters a better view when every second counts.
Source: Photo by Jason Mavrommatis on Unsplash
That struck me because it makes the AI debate real.
Here was someone doing dangerous work who could use better tools. The potential benefit was something every American family could understand.
Giving Small Crews a Better View
Across America, volunteers leave their jobs and families to answer emergency calls. As of June 2026, nearly 70% of registered U.S. fire departments were staffed entirely by volunteers.
In February 2026, New York’s firefighter association reported that volunteer ranks had fallen by a third. The state had about 80,000 volunteers, down from 120,000 in the early 2000s.
Many were aging or struggling to balance service with work and family.
Cole sees a possible way to give smaller crews more help.
AI could guide drones around burning buildings, sending pictures ahead of arriving firefighters. Crews could spot trouble sooner and keep more hands available to fight the fire.
These systems would need to prove reliable and affordable. But giving firefighters a better view could help them make every second count.
Useful Technology Is Already Arriving
Drones are already helping firefighters get a better view.
In 2023, Colorado Springs created a unit that made drones available around the clock. Their missions include responding to fires and searching for missing hikers.
AI could build on that progress by helping crews make sense of images faster. But Cole sees another opportunity before the first alarm sounds.
Firefighters prepare building plans so crews know what to expect when they arrive. That takes time, something busy volunteers often have little to spare.
Cole suggests AI could help pull together maps and property records. Firefighters would check the information and keep it current.
That kind of practical help is what catches my eye. American innovation can give people better tools for difficult, dangerous work.
For a small fire crew, that could mean more time for the job only they can do.
Where Our Alpha-4 Approach Comes In
For investors, this story points toward a larger business principle. A product becomes valuable when it solves a problem customers care about.
The strongest opportunities often begin with work that attracts little attention from Wall Street.
Our Alpha-4 Approach starts by understanding the need a business serves. We then examine its leadership, financial strength, and the price we would pay.
Excitement about a technology cannot substitute for understanding how a company makes money.
Fire departments have limited budgets, so affordability will matter alongside performance.
A useful demonstration alone will not establish a profitable business. Suppliers must deliver dependable products that customers can afford and continue using.
That discipline keeps me optimistic about American innovation and careful with investment dollars.
In the American Prosperity Report, we seek businesses that turn practical advances into lasting value. Progress can improve daily life while rewarding owners of the right companies.
Cole’s experience reminds us that the opportunity reaches far beyond computer screens…
Sometimes, it begins with a volunteer answering a pager before sunrise. Giving that person better information could make an already difficult job more manageable.
For a firefighter facing a burning house, better information could mean precious seconds saved.
For us, the opportunity is finding businesses that make those improvements worth paying for.
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Regards,
Charles Mizrahi
Prosperity Insider
