Birmingham City Council has approved a three-year, $170,000 agreement with Axon to lease cameras, with footage to be used for training and incident investigations

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham Fire and Rescue Services will soon add new safety technology to its toolkit after the Birmingham City Council approved an agreement with Axon Enterprise Inc. to lease 30 body cameras for firefighters.

City officials said the cameras will also be worn by fire inspectors and paramedics responding to calls, with the footage used mainly for training and to support incident investigations, Birmingham Fire Department representatives told WBRC.

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“In the past, a lot of these cases have relied on written descriptions and drawings of what may have occurred, so these cameras will really assist our fire inspectors in that regard,” Council President Wardine Alexander said. “If you take the recent fire and alleged arson that occurred in Five Points South, as our staff go in and inspect the site, this technology will help them have a better visual and will be a real game-changer for how we approach similar situations.”

The three-year agreement, which begins Jan. 1, 2026, will cost the city just over $170,000.

Does your department provide body-worn cameras? If so, how are they used?

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