And now, a firefighter in Dubai drowns a car fire on a jetpack
Kelsey D. Atherton
at 09:44 AM Jan 25 2017
Dubai first responder demonstrates a jetpack
Screenshot by author, from YouTube
Tech // 

A burning car on a bridge is two kinds of traffic problems: it's a danger for everyone around it, and it's an obstacle for traffic trying to get around it and out of the way. The combination can slow a fire truck driving to extinguish the burn. To solve this problem, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates reached into the future. How do you stop a car burning on a bridge? Send a fireman on a jet ski through the water, and then have them fly on a jetpack so they can tackle the flame.

 
 

Dubbed “Dolphin,” the system appears similar to the kind of jetpacks one might see mounted on docks for tourists, lifting the passenger into the air on a stream of rapidly pumped and expelled water. In the demonstration shown here, it carries a firefighter and his hose, allowing him to tackle the mock first before other emergency responders arrive.

Dolphin isn't the only jetpack considered by the U.A.E. In 2015, Dubai placed an order for jetpacks powered by ducted fans, to help emergency responders save lives in skyscrapers. A tall ask, given that Dubai is home to the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

The dolphin jetpack has no such lofty ambitions, instead tackling possible problems near the ground, where people tend to be. Watch it demonstrated below:

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