Local Student Revives an Old Friend of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue

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On January 23rd, 2012, TVF&R's Board of Directors and Deputy Fire Chief Dustin Morrow recognized Catlin Gabel High School student, Anne Gilleland, and her robotics team coach, Dale Yocum, for their recent work to resuscitate TVF&R's Robbie the Robot. The fire hydrant mascot had been used for decades at community events to help children learn about fire safety. However, in recent years, Robbie's 1980′s technology no longer worked, and he faced the fate of being recycled. (New animated hydrants cost $5,000 or more, so TVF&R had no budget to replace Robbie.)

Last fall, Anne and Dale put their robotics knowledge to work and were able to locate hard-to-find parts, install new drive belts, and fix corroded connections. Once Robbie was running again, Deputy Fire Marshal Jeff Lee gave him a complete makeover which included new paint.

The Catlin Gabel Robotics Team, also known as the Flaming Chickens, are active year-round and compete in contests locally, regionally, nationally and globally. During competition season, students spend as much as six hours per day working on software, fabrication, and control systems for robots. Thank you Anne and Dale for resuscitating our old friend, Robbie! We look forward to using him for many years in our fire safety program.

Republished with permission of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. View original article here.



Author:Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue