A fire-fighting vehicle includes a boom assembly movably coupled to a chassis, a penetrating nozzle coupled to the boom assembly, an actuator that moves the penetrating nozzle relative to the chassis, and a controller operatively coupled to a sensor. The penetrating nozzle includes a piercing tip and an outlet configured to be selectively fluidly coupled to a supply of fire suppressant. The piercing tip is repositionable relative to a surface of an object having an interior cavity. The outlet supplies fire suppressant into the interior cavity when the piercing tip is within the interior cavity. The sensor provides data relating to at least one of a position and an orientation of the piercing tip relative to the surface. The controller determines an angular orientation of the piercing tip relative to the surface based on the data.