Thermite RS3

America's first fire-department robot was a Thermite RS3: the Los Angeles Fire Department put it into service in October 2020, funded by the LAFD Foundation at about 272,000 USD (Engadget, 2020; other reports say 277,000–278,000 USD). Collins Fire Department in Mississippi received a 260,000 USD grant for an RS3 in December 2024, and Dallas Fire-Rescue also runs one.

Built by Howe & Howe (Textron Systems) in Maine, the robot weighs about 3,500 lb (1,588 kg) depending on attachments and measures 84 × 65.5 × 64.5 in (214 × 166 × 164 cm). A 36.8 hp Yanmar 3TNV88C diesel with hydrostatic drive and a 9-gallon tank runs up to 20 hours, propels the rubber tracks at 8 mph (12.9 km/h) and climbs 50 percent grades.

The Elkhart Brass Scorpion monitor delivers 2,500 gpm, about 9,460 l/min, at 200 psi, reaching over 100 m horizontally and 50 m vertically. An 8,000 lb winch (12,000 lb optional), a dozer blade, a 9,200 cfm positive-pressure fan, CAFS and a foam tank are available. The operator stands 300 to 500 m away with a belly-pack controller and HD video, or tethers the robot over 30 m; FLIR thermal cameras are optional.

Only the LUF 120 with its 18,000 l/min monitor moves more water among the robots catalogued here, and the RS3 triples the flow of the Colossus favoured by European brigades.