The people behind AReFire
Andreas
Technology, games and virtual environments
The engineer from Skåne with a passion for games, virtual worlds, and – when the opportunity arises – skiing in the Åre mountains. Andreas is the founder of Virtuell Design, a company that for several years has helped, among others, the nuclear power industry develop advanced and complex training and simulation environments for various scenarios.
With deep technical expertise and extensive experience in simulations and digital environments, Andreas is responsible for the technical development behind AReFire.
Niclas
Training that matters when it really counts
Niclas is a paramedic and firefighter with a strong commitment to training people to be prepared when the unexpected happens. He has over 20 years of experience in education, both through his own companies, Akuthjälpen and Åre Brandskydd, and on assignments for regions and other organizations.
He has conducted thousands of trainings in fire safety, fire-hazard hot work, and First Aid/CPR—as well as more advanced courses in disaster management and simulation training. When Niclas isn’t training, you’ll usually find him on a padel court or around a football field, where he helps drive Järpens IF forward.
How AReFire was born
The story of AReFire actually began on a football field in 2024. There, Niclas and Andreas ran into each other and started talking about work, experiences, and opportunities to combine their respective skills. Pretty soon, an idea took shape—an idea to simplify and improve fire extinguishing exercises in fire training.
Niclas had long experienced the same challenges:
- Extinguishers that need to be filled, carried, and packed
- Extra time, extra logistics, and a lot of heavy lifting
- Exercises outdoors in cold, snow, rain, and wind
- Unmotivated participants who would rather not go outside
He had tried existing solutions on the market – both VR extinguishers and fire screens – but found them too complex, expensive, and full of features that were rarely used in practice.
From VR to AR – a decisive step
Based on these experiences, Andreas and his team began developing a solution that would be:
- Easy to set up
- Easy to use
- Realistic
- Cost-effective
Countless tests were conducted: fire extinguishers were analyzed, scenarios were created, tested, and revised. A VR solution was developed and worked well technically – but something was missing.
Niclas wanted to be able to train in the customer’s own facilities, in their real environment, and design the entire training process as close to reality as possible. This is where AR (Augmented Reality) came into the picture.
AR opened up entirely new possibilities: realistic fire extinguishing exercises directly in existing environments, without propane, without extinguishing agents, and without weather dependency. The focus shifted from VR to AR—and AReFire took shape.
A product ready for the real world
In the autumn of 2025, we reached a finished product that could be tested in real training sessions. In December, the first customers got to use the AReFire Trainer during their training sessions.
The feedback was clear:
"This was much better and far more credible than standing there spraying a fire extinguisher on a propane barrel."
After further adjustments, refinements, and the development of the company and business idea, the name also fell into place: AReFire – a combination of AR, Fire and our connection to Åre.
LAUNCH AND FUTURE
In February 2026, we launch AReFire Trainer and release the first modules to the market.
We hope you will step into the digital training world with us – and create more realistic, environmentally friendly, cost-effective and educational fire drills for your customers and students.
Who do you contact?
Technology, virtual environments and development
→ get in touch with Andreas
Training, practice sessions and new ideas
→ get in touch with Niclas
