VIDEO: Several North Central Florida agencies are now using drones to fight wildfires in windy and dry conditions. The drones give fire personnel a closer view of large brush fires and utilize thermal imaging to help firefighters identify where fires are burning the hottest.
“So it helps us to get to the fire faster,” drone operator Scott Fielder said. Over a decade ago, an employee at Alachua County Fire Rescue convinced management to look into the potential of drones. Since their implementation in 2015, the firehouse’s drone program has developed.
“A grassroots effort through one of our employees who really saw the value they could provide to us, so it’s been a great addition, something that we’ve come to rely upon,” Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Taylor said. Taylor said the program has enhanced the department. Using thermal cameras, crews are able to identify which parts of brush fires are burning the hottest.
The department has used drones for structure fires. “We’ve even used them successfully in locating fire within a structure that we otherwise wouldn’t have otherwise been able to see which has guided us in our ability to make safer, more efficient decisions to getting the fire out,” Taylor said.
Fielder said cutting through the haze gives crews fighting brush fires an edge they previously didn’t have. “Normally, especially on a large fire, there’s a lot of smoke coming up, we can with the thermal camera, we can basically cut through all of that so we can see even in a wall of smoke we can see exactly where the fire is and what temperature it is at that given time,” Fielder said.
Officials say the drones will play a role in the firefight moving forward. They’re reminding everyone to adhere to burn bans and to practice fire safety habits.