- Ten years ago, something amazing happened
- Firefighters began to wear jetpacks to help them quickly reach blazes
- However, little has been able to follow since
Nearly ten years ago, something occurred in Dubai that was disruptive, unheard of, and a huge risk – and it was genius too.
Firefighters began to wear jetpacks to help them quickly reach blazes on the upper floors of tall skyscrapers.
But have we seen the same level of innovation since then?
At the time, the Dubai Civil Defence department placed an order with Martin Aircraft Company for 20 jetpacks worth US$250 each that would allow firefighting ‘pilots’ the ability to stay in the air for longer than 45 minutes at 3,000 feet.
This was to ensure blazes would be tackled in less time.
Martin Aircraft Company’s CEO, Peter Coker, called the move ‘a significant step forward for the advanced delivery of first responder services in the United Arab Emirates’ when it was announced at the 2016 Dubai Air Show.
Lt Col Ali Hassan Al Mutawa also said of the Dubai Civil Defence’s stance: “The vision of Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) is protecting lives, properties and environment and to provide fast professional service, efficient investment of human and material sources to give best results. Dubai is one of the fastest growing future cities in the world with its modern skyscrapers and vast infrastructure. It has always been a world leader in adopting new technology to improve and save people’s lives. The introduction of Martin Jetpacks into our fleet of emergency response vehicles is another example of how Dubai leads the world.”
But while it was created like the first iterations of the helicopter, it wasn’t to last in daily operations.
However, its unusual creation begs the question: When will be the next time we see something so out-of-the-box in fire suppression?
