After receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Magnolia Fire Department is now able to utilize its drone.
In a nutshell
Magnolia Fire Captain Bryan Perry said the drone, purchased in January, is a crucial resource that can be used after weather events such as hurricanes to explore the areas without harm.
“We had a hard time telling people to stop driving around barricades when roads are flooding," Perry said. “So what we ended up doing was flying the drone and showing them the water.”
The details
Perry said features of the drone include:
- Six-way obstacle avoidance
- 200x zoom on its camera
- A range finder
- The ability to fly in the rain
- Alerts when an aircraft is nearby
As part of FAA regulations, the drone can only fly up to 400 feet. Magnolia firefighters who have expressed interest in being drone pilots will operate the drone after undergoing training and receiving the necessary certificates per FAA requirements, Perry said.
Perry said two people at the Magnolia Fire Department, including himself, are certified, and the goal is to have battalion chiefs as certified pilots, which would allow a drone operator to be present at all times.
Quote of note
“It's been really a valuable asset for us when we're putting our firefighters in the water to go do the water rescues. ... The drone's thermal imager is able to pick up on the body signatures of [people] in the water very easily,” Perry said. “So if they were to get swept away, or something like that, the drone would be able to follow them very quickly so that we could keep our eyes on [them], and figure out where they are and rescue them.”
