Japan rescuers to get water jet cutters for debris slicing

While Japan is fairly well equipped to notify citizens of impending doom, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency is taking another step to preparing its rescue forces for anything in times of emergency, and the forthcoming water jet cutter should help slice through debris without the risk of starting a fire in the process. Due to a railway disaster in April of 2005 which forced rescuers to find an alternate way of cutting metal with gasoline sloshed about, the water jet cutters were moved up in priority, and now the powerful streams can output a high-pressure blast of water / sand in order to make a "1.5-centimeter cut through a 2-centimeter-thick steel plate in just a single minute." Of course, the biggest boon here is the device's inability to spark a fire, but the pressure cutter can also be used in instances where flammability isn't an issue, and it has already been demonstrated to local reporters last week. Although we're not sure just how soon these slicers, along with high-powered "blowers" to whisk away harmful fumes, will be put into action, they'll be hitting the fire departments of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo first.

[Via Fark]

[rokorre @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:10AM]

mario sunshine anyone?

[daniel @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:06AM]

water jet cutters have been available to the swedish fire fighters for a while now, not sure what took the japs so long. it seems to be a really sweet tool.

[mmm @ Jan 24th 2007 9:57AM]

What Daniel is talking about is the CCS Cobra http://www.ccs-cobra.com/en/main_eng.asp

[max andrews @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:21AM]

That's sick! Next time I go to Japan, I'll do the most dangerous things I can in order to be saved by one of these things, just so I can tell my friends I was rescued by a water jet cutter in Japan. Sweet!

[McCandless @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:53AM]

I ran an OMAX waterjet for a couple months, and they are not necessarily non-sparking. When I was cutting ferous metals with the abrasive (garnet) on, sparks could easily be seen. They didn't last very long (compared to sparcs from grinding) but they were there.

[James @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:09AM]

What happens when they want to quell pesky rioters?

[blah @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:49AM]

the pesky rioter get quelled

[pito189 @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:46PM]

From that picture it looks like it puts out a lot of water, so now instead of burning the victims to death will they just drown them? Or will the blowers help with moving the water away from the victims?

[macona @ Jan 23rd 2007 1:02PM]

Water Jets use little water. Its just it is at 100000psi+ and depending on the application mixed to create a slurry. At that pressure after it passes through the material it is totally atomized making it look like a whole lot more than it really is.

And when your done rescuing you can clean their teeth!

[gss5556 @ Jan 24th 2007 1:38PM]

McCandless is right...it's not 100% spark free. I don't see any reason to add unreliable equipment to fire departments expences...not to mention union will request for higher pay for trained fire fighters. Leave the machine in the shop under computers control. How long will it take to set-up and adjust/calibrate the pressure to function properly? How many gallons of water is needed to cut
2Ft. Sq. Opg. on 1/8-In. thick steel? Need small tanker with special filtering system. Hydrants are not clean..

[Beast @ Jan 27th 2007 10:10AM]

Yeah, they're not "blowers"; they really are called blowers. it's a standard piece of equipment in HVAC and water treatment. Learn your gadgets!