Manila trots out robot firefighter

MANILA’S NEW “TOY” LUF 60, an unmanned firefighting robot, puts on a show before officials, including Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso (right). —photo courtesy of MANILA PIO

Don’t be surprised to see a robot firing cannons of water on a house on fire alongside firemen and volunteers in a Manila neighborhood.

The city local government has acquired the P40-million machine that can detect flames in enclosed spaces.

The remote-controlled LUF 60, equipped with a high-performance cooling fan, a thermal camera and a water cannon with 360 nuzzles, has a capacity equivalent to 360 firemen, officials said. Manila is one of the three local governments in the metropolis that acquired a high-tech firefighting robot. The others are Quezon and Pasig cities.

“During the previous administration, there were lots of reports of injured firemen who were burned or suffocated while in the line of duty. We acquired this machine so that we can avoid those kinds of incidents,” said Arnel Angeles, chief of the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO).

The city government purchased the unit from Cosem Safety and Security Services Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based fire safety product manufacturer that won the public bidding last year.

The unmanned firefighting robot, which was acquired in 2019 and unveiled to the public only on Monday, features a thermal camera that can detect flames in impenetrable spaces while a water fogger cools the area as firefighters enter enclosed buildings.

These can minimize the harm and risk that firefighters face by clearing away smoke that can cause suffocation, as well as toxic gases and heat.

The LUF 60’s thermal imaging cameras allow firefighters to detect temperature and sources of heat through infrared radiation.

Water gushing from the LUF 60 can also reach up to 24.38 meters. INQ