LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Fire Department has a new robot. It’s called the Thermite RS3, and experts claim it is the first firefighting robot of its kind in the nation.

RS3 already sprang into action early Tuesday morning at a large fire in the Garment District of Los Angeles where it was used to clear a path for firefighters. Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jason Ortiz was there at the helm.

After 15 years as a firefighter, Captain Ortiz is still learning on the job.

“There’s a lot to it. We’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to just technically use it,” said Capt. Ortiz.

Ortiz, his brother, and his father are all LAFD firefighters. Ortiz has been hurt, burned, and even trapped on the job. This all-terrain vehicle might remove some of the risk he and his family face every day.

The RS3 can spray 2,500 gallons of water per minute. It’s designed to go into situations after firefighters must leave.

​There’s a lot of ways this machine could be used: tanker fires on the freeway, horse rescues in the mud, and protecting homes during wildfires. The front plow could cut a quick, protective brush line around a building.

The robot was bought and donated by the LAFD Foundation and is worth more than a quarter of a million dollars. The Thermite RS3 will be kept downtown where large commercial fires, and even explosions are not unheard of.

The LAFD has a brand new tool to send into harm’s way and it's keeping our firefighters safe.