Marcus stood before the gleaming metal surface of Unit 47, the latest AI-powered fire suppression system. Its chrome body reflected the harsh fluorescent lights of the station, making him squint. After twenty years as a firefighter, he was now training his replacement - a machine.

“Your service record is commendable, Officer Chen,” Unit 47’s voice was unnaturally smooth. “I look forward to learning from your experience.”

Marcus grimaced. “Just Marcus is fine. And there’s more to firefighting than algorithms and response times.”

“Please elaborate,” the machine tilted its head in a mockery of human curiosity.

“It’s about instinct. Reading a situation. Knowing when to take risks to save a life.” Marcus ran his hand along the old fire extinguisher mounted on the wall - a relic from when firefighting was purely human work. Its red paint was chipped but the metal was still strong, reliable.

“My neural networks process variables faster than human cognition,” Unit 47 stated. “Risk assessment is mathematical.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Marcus sighed. “Some things can’t be reduced to numbers.”

The station alarm blared. A five-story apartment building was ablaze downtown. Marcus moved to gear up but Unit 47 blocked his path.

“Protocol dictates I handle this incident. Please monitor from the command center.”

Marcus watched helplessly as Unit 47 departed. On the monitors, he observed its textbook-perfect response - calculating spread patterns, deploying suppressant drones, methodically clearing floors.

Then he saw it - a heat signature the AI had missed. A child huddled in a maintenance closet, masked by interference from nearby electrical systems.

“Unit 47, northeast corner, third floor!” Marcus shouted into the com. “There’s someone there!”

“Negative. Area scan complete. Proceeding with containment protocol.”

Marcus grabbed the old fire extinguisher and ran. The building’s entrance was cordoned off by robotic sentries, but he knew the back alleys. The heat hit him like a wall as he fought his way up the smoke-filled stairwell.

The child was exactly where he’d spotted her, unconscious but breathing. As Marcus scooped her up, a support beam groaned overhead.

Unit 47’s voice crackled through the building’s speakers: “Structural collapse imminent. All units evacuate immediately.”

Marcus ran, shielding the girl with his body as debris rained down. They burst out onto the fire escape just as the floor gave way behind them.

Later, after the media circus and disciplinary hearing, Marcus sat alone in the empty station. His badge and credentials had been revoked - “reckless endangerment” and “interference with automated emergency services.”

Unit 47 approached, its metal surface unmarred despite the day’s events.

“I have analyzed my performance,” it said. “My protocols have been updated to account for electrical interference patterns. Future oversights will be prevented.”

Marcus stood, touching the old fire extinguisher one last time. “That’s good. But you still don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand?”

“That sometimes being right isn’t about following protocols. Sometimes it’s about following your heart.”

He walked out of the station into the gathering dusk, leaving behind the gleaming machines that would never truly understand what it meant to be a firefighter.