Robot Helped Paris Crews Fighting Notre Dame Blaze

April 18, 2019
Colossus, a remote-controlled firefighting robot, was used by the Paris Fire Brigade to help put out the fire at the 850-year-old cathedral while trying to keep firefighters safe.

In battling the extensive fire that broke out at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral this week, French firefighters received modern, cutting-edge help in their efforts to save the 850-year-old landmark from destruction.

Colossus, a remote-controlled firefighting robot, was called in to assist crews tackling the blaze, the New York Post reports. Footage provided to Canada's Global News shows the robot hosing down flames inside the cathedral Monday as it tries to "extinguish the fire and lower the temperature inside the nave," a Paris Fire Brigade spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

Built by Shark Robotics, Colossus is 2.5 feet and 1,000-plus pounds of firefighting robotics, according to the Post. The automaton, which the fire brigade brought online two years ago, is waterproof and fire-resistant, and it comes equipped with a hose and camera.

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“This is a robot that is designed to remove humans from danger,” Cyril Kabbara, co-founder of Shark Robotics, told the Post. “Not to replace (humans) but to act as operational support for firefighters.”

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