Firefighting robot ready for action in Kent

Said to be one of the first deployed in the UK, the remotely controlled robot will mainly assist on large scale fires at industrial and commercial sites, which can be particularly hazardous. The tracked robot can record video and use audio to enable communication between firefighters and those inside a building. 

Thermal capabilities allow the system to detect hotspots, while a hose attachment can spray up to 2,000 litres of water a minute. For rescue operations, a stretcher can be attached to the rear and the robot can tow people out of danger. 

“We’re always developing new tactics, and we want to have the best resources at incidents,” said Mark, group manager at Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS).

“There are three main reasons why we’ve introduced it into the service and that is keeping firefighters safe, reducing the number of resources at an incident and limiting the amount of time we’re there. This robot drives our service forward in our ability to help keep firefighters safe and to provide the best response we can.”

The KFRS Technical Rescue team has already completed its training with the robot and the system is set to be deployed to incidents in the coming weeks. According to Carl, from KFRS Technical Rescue, the robot’s true potential won’t be known until the firefighters have had a chance to use it in the field.

“Any innovative technology that we utilise in the service to improve the safety of personnel is vital,” he said. “The robot has got a lot of capabilities and potential and we will learn from this in time when it’s used at incidents. “It’s like when we started flying drones in the service, we knew what they could do but not the extent of how they could be used. Now they’re a tool which we utilise for a range of different incidents. The robot will already bring so much to the service, but there’ll be lots more it can do!”