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We’ll be the first to admit—the future hasn’t worked out quite the way we thought it would. Flying cars are still on the drawing board, we haven’t been back to the Moon, artificial intelligence remains stubbornly stupid, and dinosaurs haven’t been brought back to life. On the other hand, however, 2017 is apparently the year when firefighters score jetpacks.
At least, in cash-rich Dubai, they do. Authorities there have announced a new program reportedly called “Dolphin” that endeavors to help firefighters avoid the city’s heavy traffic and reach fires more rapidly by utilizing the city’s network of waterways. In the event of a fire adjacent to one of the city’s many shorelines, first responders can rally to the scene at high speed on jet skis, hook up their water-powered hover jets to their Sea-Doos, and lift themselves up above the blaze to blast it with high-pressure H20 from on high.
Dubai has dallied with the idea of using jetpacks for firefighting operations before; back in 2015, the city announced it intended to buy 20 true jetpacks (i.e. ones that use air, like God and Bell Aerosystems intended) for first responder use, principally for rescue operations involving the emirate’s many skyscrapers. Since the
The Dubai Civil Defense force has released a short video showing the new hovering firefighting operations in action, depicting a firefighter using his apparatus to “extinguish” a pickup truck parked on the side of a causeway, emitting colored smoke to simulate a fire. Does it come with bold cinematic orchestral music designed to add unnecessary gravitas to the moment? You bet it does.
