Dubai’s Fire Service To Soon Use Jetpacks To Fight Fires

Dubai’s Fire Service To Soon Use Jetpacks To Fight Fires

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Dubai has sealed a deal with Martin Jetpack in order to have its firefighters armed with technology that could allow them to fly up to 3,000 feet above the ground and fight fires in high-rise buildings.

The jetpacks, which cost up to $250,000 each, can fly up to 3,000 feet, which will come in handy when fires happen at top floors of the many skyscrapers in the city, or when winds push the fire towards upper floors, Business Insider reported. Under the wing, the jetpack boasts the ability to carry payloads of over 250 pounds. Though 250 pounds still seems a tad low considering it has to carry a firefighter and their equipment, Martin and the DCD feel confident enough in the jetpack’s capability to move forward with the partnership. What is incredibly clear, however, is how easily firefighters will be able to access hard to reach areas of crisis with one of these contraptions strapped to their backs – something a skyscraper-happy city like Dubai will greatly benefit from.

The agreement with Martin Aircraft secures future delivery of manned and unmanned jetpacks to the DCD, as well as a series of flight simulators, and training for Dubai’s service staff. What this amounts to is roughly 20 jetpacks, two simulators, and complete hands-on operational training with pilots and engineers. Due in part to the incredibly steep learning curve that comes with using this technology, a timetable for deploying a jetpack-toting firefighter was not given.

“The vision of Dubai Civil Defence is protecting lives, properties and environment and to provide fast professional service, efficient investment of human and material sources to give [the] best results,” says DCD’s Lt. Col. Ali Almutawa. “Dubai is one of the fastest growing future cities in the world with its modern skyscrapers and vast infrastructure… the introduction of Martin jetpacks into our fleet of emergency response vehicles is another example of how Dubai leads the world.”