Chiayi Chemical Blaze Highlights Potential of Firefighting Robots

TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan is increasingly deploying firefighting robots to protect human firefighters in hazardous situations. A recent chemical plant fire in Chiayi County destroyed one such robot, underscoring their role in dangerous operations.

Transcript

00:00Here lie the charred remains of a firefighting robot,

00:03sent in to help put out a fire at a chemical plant last month in Jiayi in central Taiwan.

00:22The use of these robots has been on the rise in Taiwan,

00:26including at another Jiayi factory fire earlier this month.

00:29The bots are able to enter structures and spray water

00:32in areas too dangerous for human firefighters to go.

00:35They're fitted with a number of cameras and sensors,

00:38which send information to their controllers through laptops and tablets.

01:00This all as there have been calls for

01:02greater protections for first responders like firefighters.

01:05An incident in the city of Xinju last year,

01:08where two firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty,

01:11saw greater public attention on the issue

01:13and demands for reforms from those in the profession.

01:16While the robots have had some success,

01:18they still have some limitations as well.

01:20There are currently 141 of the robots being used in fire departments across

01:47the country. The National Fire Agency says

01:49the Jiayi fires show the robots' utility in protecting firefighters,

01:54and will continue to integrate them into their operations.

01:57We will continue to integrate them into their operations.

02:19each robot costs between $50,000 and $200,000. While the robots may be expensive, fire departments

02:27would argue there's no price too high to ensure their human firefighters make it home.

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