Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Thursday morning, Monrovia Volunteer Fire responded to a fire with a home fully engulfed.
The perfect opportunity to roll out their newly purchased drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera.
“Every day we find new uses for the drone. This particular event, we found that the thermal imaging camera on the drone was super helpful in spotting hot spots in this fire after most of the fire had been knocked down,” said Lieutenant James Filley.
Filley says 9 members of the volunteer fire department have been certified to pilot the drone. With the drone’s bird’s eye view, Filley says fires are easier spot, and it keeps his crew safe.
“Having this drone, we call it a force multiplier, it makes quick work of finding those hotspots and putting them out. It also helps us stay a little bit safer as well because otherwise we’d have to send personnel into the home or the burned out building,” said Filley.
Drone use doesn’t stop at fires, it’s a life saver.
Just like Priceville Police, using a drone to track down a missing elderly man in the woods of Limestone county.
“We actually have a software with it that allows us to livestream the video to rescuers handheld devices whether that’s a phone or a tablet. If we’re searching for a missing person, we can give a QR code to those rescuers and they can view the live footage from the drone while they’re out and about searching for somebody,” said Filley.
Filley says the technology will also dramatically reduce the time it takes for his crews to put out fires around the community.
Click Here to Subscribe on YouTube: Watch the latest WAFF 48 news, sports & weather videos on our YouTube channel!
Copyright 2024 WAFF. All rights reserved.
