Fight Fire With Jetpacks, Firefighters Get Equipped For The Future

Being a firefighter is one of the noblest professions in the world, but it can get dangerous, especially when encountering cumbersome obstacles. Now, firefighters have a new tool at their disposal to help them combat the blaze, and it’s quite futuristic. With the use of jetpacks, the men in yellow jackets can fight fires on a whole new level.

The novel way of fighting fires was recently showcased in Dubai, where the Dubai Civil Defense produced footage of what it calls the Dolphin, Time reports. It’s basically a system that’s composed of a water jetpack, along with a fire hose and a jet ski. This is a way for firefighters to combat one of the bigger challenges in trying to put out life-threatening blazes, which can include traffic jams and areas with limited space.

Considering the nature of the system, Dolphin is likely most useful in areas that are near bodies of water such as lakes or the ocean. It gives firefighters with substantial access to boats that catch on fire, blazing buildings on the shoreline, or even dousing cars that are trapped on bridges or highways near the water. There is also the matter of having access to practically unlimited sources of water.

It would seem that countries in the Middle East are leading the charge in searching for ways to make commercially available products like jetpacks into viable methods of rescue, Futurism reports. Back in 2015, for example, the UAE actually deployed jetpacks for emergency situations.

By partnering with Martin Aircraft Company, a method to modify the jetpacks in order to make them more viable as rescue equipment was developed. Aside from simply fighting fires, the improved jetpack systems could also potentially help with rescue operations in cases where people are stuck inside burning buildings. The country is still looking for others fields where the technology would be useful as well.