Drones are used every day for several professions, and that includes firefighters. They’ve embraced pretty much any tool they can to help them fight fires over the past century, and now that includes a tool with an eye in the sky.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department has nearly a couple of dozen of them to send information to responding crews before they even reach the scene.
“Having eyes in the sky is pretty important to us,” Scott Douglas with the Oklahoma City Fire Dept. said. “Knowing what tools to take, seeing, you know, where the fire may be located, and there’s actually thermal, thermal capabilities, too. So we can actually see the hottest parts of the structure.”
The drones they use are operated by dispatchers. They’ll send them into the air while crews respond to scenes like structure or grass fires and even car wrecks.
“If we can get a drone launch to get a visual of the vehicle accident, our crews can arrive there much quicker,” Douglas said.
They’re always good for ensuring accurate and pertinent information after they get a call. They are placed across the city in weatherproof boxes.
“They’re up within a matter of seconds,” Douglas said. From there, crews get video from them before they arrive on scene. Matter of fact, it helped crews respond to a three-alarm fire early Sunday morning at a motel that was being renovated.
“It allows you to plan ahead when we’re going to need more; we need more rigs,” Amanda McDonald with the OKC Fire Dept. said on the scene of that early Sunday morning fire.
They’re not an everyday use, with weather playing a factor, of course. But if it helps locate and quickly knock down fires or find wrecks, it’s a game-changer.
“Just having that visual information, eyes in the sky, is really helpful for our first responding crews,” Douglas said.
Police use drones as well. Douglas said they can stay in the sky for as long as a dispatcher needs. The goal is to have 50 total drones across the city over the next few years.