diff --git a/docker/hailo8l/Dockerfile b/docker/hailo8l/Dockerfile
index 2e91563d4..881fcf594 100644
--- a/docker/hailo8l/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/hailo8l/Dockerfile
@@ -77,8 +77,6 @@ FROM deps AS h8l-frigate
 COPY --from=h8l-wheels /h8l-wheels /deps/h8l-wheels
 COPY --from=build-hailort /hailo-wheels /deps/hailo-wheels
 COPY --from=build-hailort /etc/environment /etc/environment
-RUN mkdir /hailo8l_models
-RUN wget -O /hailo8l_models/ssd_mobilenet_v1.hef https://hailo-model-zoo.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/ModelZoo/Compiled/v2.11.0/hailo8l/ssd_mobilenet_v1.hef
 RUN CC=$(python3 -c "import sysconfig; import shlex; cc = sysconfig.get_config_var('CC'); cc_cmd = shlex.split(cc)[0]; print(cc_cmd[:-4] if cc_cmd.endswith('-gcc') else cc_cmd)") && \
     echo "CC=$CC" >> /etc/environment
 
diff --git a/docs/docs/configuration/object_detectors.md b/docs/docs/configuration/object_detectors.md
index efb33ddda..bde37432e 100644
--- a/docs/docs/configuration/object_detectors.md
+++ b/docs/docs/configuration/object_detectors.md
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ $ cat /sys/kernel/debug/rknpu/load
 
 This detector is available if you are using the Raspberry Pi 5 with Hailo-8L AI Kit. This has not been tested using the Hailo-8L with other hardware.
 
-### Configuration 
+### Configuration
 
 ```yaml
 detectors:
@@ -406,7 +406,7 @@ detectors:
     type: hailo8l
     device: PCIe
     model:
-      path: /hailo8l_models/ssd_mobilenet_v1.hef
+      path: /config/model_cache/h8l_cache/ssd_mobilenet_v1.hef
 
 model:
   width: 300
diff --git a/frigate/detectors/plugins/hailo8l.py b/frigate/detectors/plugins/hailo8l.py
index 88b542a5e..cb797baeb 100644
--- a/frigate/detectors/plugins/hailo8l.py
+++ b/frigate/detectors/plugins/hailo8l.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import logging
+import os
+import urllib.request
 
 import numpy as np
 from hailo_platform import (
@@ -50,9 +52,13 @@ class HailoDetector(DetectionApi):
         self.h8l_model_type = detector_config.model.model_type
         self.h8l_tensor_format = detector_config.model.input_tensor
         self.h8l_pixel_format = detector_config.model.input_pixel_format
+        self.model_url = "https://hailo-model-zoo.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/ModelZoo/Compiled/v2.11.0/hailo8l/ssd_mobilenet_v1.hef"
+        self.cache_dir = "/config/model_cache/h8l_cache"
+        self.expected_model_filename = "ssd_mobilenet_v1.hef"
         output_type = "FLOAT32"
 
         logger.info(f"Initializing Hailo device as {self.h8l_device_type}")
+        self.check_and_prepare_model()
         try:
             # Validate device type
             if self.h8l_device_type not in ["PCIe", "M.2"]:
@@ -99,6 +105,24 @@ class HailoDetector(DetectionApi):
             logger.error(f"Failed to initialize Hailo device: {e}")
             raise
 
+    def check_and_prepare_model(self):
+        # Ensure cache directory exists
+        if not os.path.exists(self.cache_dir):
+            os.makedirs(self.cache_dir)
+
+        # Check for the expected model file
+        model_file_path = os.path.join(self.cache_dir, self.expected_model_filename)
+        if not os.path.isfile(model_file_path):
+            logger.info(
+                f"A model file was not found at {model_file_path}, Downloading one from {self.model_url}."
+            )
+            urllib.request.urlretrieve(self.model_url, model_file_path)
+            logger.info(f"A model file was downloaded to {model_file_path}.")
+        else:
+            logger.info(
+                f"A model file already exists at {model_file_path} not downloading one."
+            )
+
     def detect_raw(self, tensor_input):
         logger.debug("[detect_raw] Entering function")
         logger.debug(