The global Wild Fire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA), developed at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) provides operational active fire monitoring from a constellation of geostationary satellites in near real-time. Transitioning from the operational WF_ABBA, the GOES-R ABI fire product development at CIMSS focuses on adapting the algorithm to utilize the advanced spatial, spectral, and temporal capabilities of GOES-R ABI while maintaining as much product continuity with the operational product as possible. In preparation for the launch of GOES-R, the fire product team developed simulated data sets. Cases studies of ABI data derived from MODIS projections as well as model derived simulations that span a variety of ecosystems and satellite zenith angles have been used to test the algorithm. Active fire detection and sub-pixel characterization is a primary concern; research has focused on investigating fire radiative power (FRP) as well as estimated instantaneous fire size and temperature. The GOES-R ABI fire algorithm has been delivered to the system contractor and work continues at CIMSS on developing innovative validation techniques.