Meet the firefighting robot that helped save Notre Dame

 Ns News Online Desk: Say “bonjour” to Colossus: the French firefighting robot that helped save Notre Dame. As the 850-year-old cathedral burned Monday, the Paris Fire Brigade deployed the fire-resistant, waterproof android to quell the flames. Dramatic footage shows 2.5-foot tall remote-controlled bot spraying water inside the smoke-filled Gothic gem.

The 1,000-plus pound machine is equipped with a fire hose and a camera that firefighters can control from afar, without having to risk burns, smoke inhalation or being hit by falling beams. Colossus “helped extinguish the fire and lower the temperature inside the nave,” Paris Fire Brigade spokesperson Gabriel Plus told AFP.

It was developed by the company Shark Robotics and added to the Paris Fire Brigade team two years ago, according to France Info. “This is a robot that is designed to remove humans from danger,” said Shark Robotics co-founder Cyril Kabbara . “Not to replace [humans] but to act as operational support for firefighters.”