Firefighting

De Havilland Canada has introduced its latest seaplane for battling forest and wildfires, the DHC-515 Firefighter. The new plane features a number of upgrades, including the ability to take on a full load of fresh or saltwater in 12 seconds.

Most of us can't afford homes with fire-extinguishing sprinklers built into the ceiling … and that's where FACE is designed to come in. It's a self-contained, heat-activated fire suppression device that's mounted in the user's home, wherever needed.

Flashover is a very dangerous phenomenon, in which all of the exposed combustible materials in an enclosed area near-simultaneously ignite. Thanks to a new AI-based system, however, firefighters may soon receive warnings when flashover is imminent.

Following up on the Bronco Overland concept, Ford has teamed up with Filson to create the Bronco + Filson Wildland Fire Rig concept. The upgraded Bronco celebrates wildfire fighters and shows how the newest body-on-frame 4x4 can help teams douse flames.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has welcomed aboard a new member of the team. The Thermite RS3 is a rover capable of pumping out thousands of gallons of water a minute, with these capabilities tested on its very first day on the job.

If there's one thing that all types of first responders have in common, it's the fact that they put a premium on speed. The Recruit quadcopter was created for such users, as it can reportedly fly at 140 mph and has a claimed 3-hour flight time.

So far, much of the development focus of China's EHang has been on providing air taxi and air tourism services, but now the air mobility company has launched a firefighting version of its two-person multi-rotor flying pod.

When it comes to putting out forest fires, the sooner that they're detected, the better. That's where a new forest-deployed sensor could come in, as it's powered by swaying tree branches.

Milrem Robotics and InnoVfoam have teamed up to create a new family of foam-shooting firefighting robots that are designed to help or replace human firefighters in dangerous situations by using remotely controlled fire monitors and foam proportioners.

If you were heading into a burning building, you'd probably want someone else to know your location within it at all times. German scientists have developed a system that's said to serve that purpose, for use by firefighters and other rescue workers.

One of the good things about drones is the fact that they can safely be flown in conditions that would prove hazardous for crewed aircraft. That's where the JC260 unmanned helicopter comes in, as it's designed to fight forest fires.

Firefighting teams tend to carry hand-held devices to help them see in harsh, smoky conditions, but an American company has built edge-detecting thermal vision into a single eye heads-up display inside the breathing mask for hands-free use.