Farenheit 451

 

Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

19 Arizona firefighters, aged 21-43, have died trying to save others’ lives and property.

Meanwhile, a robot being developed at Purdue University was used for the first time in a working fire.   The 400 pound, 2 foot tall bot was remotely controlled to successfully water down hot spots too dangerous for humans.  The robot can withstand temperatures up to 1400 degrees, and can operate continuously for up to an hour and a half.  Here is some video on it: http://www.publicsafetyreporter.com/tag/firefighting-robot/

This is the perfect application for a robot – so why isn’t there one in every U.S. fire department?  The one at Purdue is being funded by a KOREAN company, Dongil Rubber Belt Co., Ltd.  Why isn’t there a U.S. company such as Goodyear doing the same?