Ember Data is a library used by Ember.js to access and manipulate data, providing ORM functionality that works with any backend using adapters. The adapter for Firebase makes it easy to use the library with the NoSQL database. By installing the EmberFire addon, developers can easily integrate their Ember application with Firebase, allowing for real-time updates and automatic persistence of data. With Ember Inspector, developers can debug their applications in real-time, making it easier to create complex Ember Data models and persist them to Firebase.