The complexities of fighting fires in rail and road tunnels has been amply demonstrated in disasters like the 1996 Chunnel and 1999 Mont Blanc fires. Images of intense smoke, trapped people and firefighters helpless to intervene are still fresh in the public mind.

Tunnel fires not adequately opposed in the initial phases quickly become uncontrollable, because traditional firefighting methods are ineffective in tunnels. It's difficult to move equipment onto the fireground due to traffic panic and low visibility. Water restocking is often impossible, to say nothing of the unusually intense smoke and heat.

Newer, faster approaches to tunnel firefighting are necessary. One approach ready to come off the drawing board is a remotely controlled apparatus, the brainchild of an Italian fire safety engineer, who says his RoboGaT could have cut the 41-person death toll in the Mont Blanc fire. Although most of them died in the first 15 minutes, the RoboGaT's inventor says his apparatus could have been on the scene in about six minutes.

Designed and patented by Domenico Piatti of the Naples Fire Department, RoboGaT is a special cart that runs on a monorail mounted on either the tunnel wall or ceiling. The rail doubles as a 6-inch water pipe. The cart is operated from a control center outside of tunnels up to 7H miles long.

Once the prototype is built (Piatti is seeking financial backing), the robot will scoot down the rail on eight wheels at about 30mph, driven by four traction motors. When the cart reaches a fire, it plugs into a water main running through the tunnel and directs a flow of nearly 800gpm at the base of the flames.

The cart could also be equipped to carry firefighters to the scene and ferry the injured to safety. Ideally, Piatti believes that tunnels should have a RoboGaT stationed at each end, allowing fires to be attacked from both sides.

The robust apparatus sports a heat-resistant skin, fashioned from two layers of mineral fiber sandwiched over a layer of stainless steel and capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1,800degrees. RoboGaT also carries a reservoir of foam and water, used for cooling the external mantle during approach.

Insects have been buzzing around since the Paleozoic Era 280 million years ago, performing feats impossible to explain with conventional aerodynamics.

Until now. In Berkeley, a University of California biologist with a flair for aerodynamics has solved the riddle. The discovery helps hasten the development of tiny flying robots - a container of which the researchers think may eventually be part of every firehouse toolkit.