‘This will be a big advantage for us’: Kansas City Fire Department deploys ‘Robot One’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A new piece of equipment at the Kansas City Fire Department proves the future is here— with a firefighting robot.
On Saturday, KCFD’s latest purchase, Robot One, was dispatched to the garbage fire at the Batliner Recycling Facility in Northeast Kansas City.
KCFD is one of only seven fire departments in the country with this kind of technology, and it’s sent out similarly to their real-life crews.
“Like a fire truck, the bells would ring and say ‘Have Robot One respond.’ And someone goes out, gets in the truck and leaves with it,” KCFD PIO Michael Hopkins said.
It might look and sound like all fun and games, but the goal is to save time and lives.
“It obviously doesn’t replace the hard work of firefighters, but it gives us the ability to get into places and do some of the jobs that put our firefighters at risk— We can now put a piece of equipment there,” Hopkins said.
The trash fire was the perfect launch for the equipment, according to the department. Not only was it able to help target hotspots in areas that would be strenuous for crews, but it also had a blade on the front that helped push debris away from the scene.
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Plus, once Robot One got there, three crews were released from the scene, saving manpower for other incidents around the city.
“Rather than standing around a trash fire dragging heavy hose lines through slop and mud, they were able to go back in service and provide services for the city so they immediately saw the value in it,” he said.
Hopkins clarified this technology is not something they’ll be pulling out for every fire — Grass fires, defensive strategy fires and cave fires will be Robot One’s main duty. Crews run into those kinds of fires several times a year, Hopkins said, especially inside the commercial caves used as storage around the city.
“Some of these caves go miles into the hillsides and that’s difficult to get hose lines to and personnel to so this will be a big advantage for us,” Hopkins said.
The equipment is operated with a remote control, and powered with a diesel engine that has a battery-powered backup.
KCFD will help teach other crews and departments how to operate the new technology as it gets more widely implemented.
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