Firefighter learning VR/AR Advice???

Great direction and glad to have you here! Your domain experience is a big advantage.

Where to start

• Unity + C# (focus on XR)
• Meta Quest + OpenXR (fastest way to prototype)
• Learn basics of interaction, locomotion, and UI in VR

Skills that matter most

• User experience (UX) in VR — comfort, clarity, realism
• Interaction design (tools, hands, equipment)
• Performance optimization (Quest is limited hardware)
• Basic 3D/audio (fire, smoke, spatial sound are critical)

What to skip early

• Advanced graphics/shaders
• Multiplayer/networking
• Complex backend systems

For firefighting training

• Big opportunity in (and some keywords you can use for research):
  • Procedural scenarios (different fire behaviors)
  • Decision-making training, not just visuals
  • Realistic constraints (visibility, heat stress, communication)

Start small: build a single training scenario (e.g., room entry + smoke + decision points). That’s enough to validate your direction.

Your background is valuable, focus on training value over visual polish early and you'll have a lot of people interested