The Cinniapolis City Council has opted not to renew the Cinniapolis Fire Protection Services (CFPS) contract after it expires December 31, 2025. The CFPS has been putting out fires in Cinniapolis since 1914. Formed as a volunteer unit to extinguish local wildfires in 1911, it grew into a brigade and then into a full-fledged fire department by 1914. The early brigades and fire chiefs can be credited with modernizing the Cinniapolis water systems to support fire suppression. Up until this past labor negotiation, the CFPS and Cinniapolis government had always co-existed and worked well together.

Sources indicate the successful recruitment of career CFPS firefighters over to the newly formed Walesburg Fire Department (WFD) mixed with the success of experimental drone firefighting fleets spurred the government to remove humans from the equation. Back in April, Mayor Gondola openly signaled his intent to transfer the duties over the drones, “Look, I could have never imagined a world where machines respond to and effectively put out five-alarm fires. Could have never imagined it, but I don’t have to because I just watched the video of these drones coordinating their response to the blaze in Centralis yesterday. The response is eye-opening. The CFPS operators deployed the drone fleet at the same time the fire truck left the station. The drone had the largest flames contained within minutes. By the time CFPS arrived and set up to extinguish, the fire was no longer a threat to nearby structures. This is the future for a safer community,” he said.

The CFPS spokesperson was not available for comment. However, the CFPS confirmed last week that they have been assisting any of their interested employees with recommendations and transfers to the WFD. Most of the firefighters already reside in Walesburg. The Chorus sources also indicate uptick in transfers was a motivating factor to move on to an automated fleet of drones.

Mayor Gondola is on record supporting the cost savings of the drones compared to humans. In his address to the Cinni class graduates of 2025, he said, “Whether you’re graduating junior high, high school, college or higher education, drones will be by your side sooner than we can imagine. This new reality will free up humanity for far greater things and for far less capital. Imagine your local firefighter’s body and mind freed to study cancer cures or the depths of our oceans because humanity has produced a machine-driven system advanced and equitable enough that it can replace a human. That is not a bad thing. That is progress. We can put these machines to work for a fraction of the cost and unlock the capital for humanity to achieve miracles for which other civilizations have only dreamed,” he said.

What seemed like a pie-in-the-sky throwaway statement will now be the reality for Cinniapolitans enduring an out of control fire. From customer service to food service to now firefighting service, automation continues its encroachment into the service industry. As with any new technological development, time will tell if this is more fad than future.