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I've been exploring the idea of using a multirotor 'drone' to improve the situational awareness of the command and operations officers on the scene of events li

I've been exploring the idea of using a multirotor 'drone' to improve the situational awareness of the command and operations officers on the scene of events like house fires. Listen to the radio traffic from a typical residential house fire, and you'll find a non-trivial amount of the traffic is simply people trying to explain what they're seeing from their vantage point (e.g. changing smoke/fire conditions on the rear of the structure, imminent collapse of a portion of the roof, etc). A multirotor with a gimbeled camera orbiting a few dozen meters above the scene could dramatically improve the chief officer's visibility of the event, increasing safety, and allowing for better tactical decisions. This article lays out some of the largest issues I've run into.

tron_carter 13y ago
Many municipalities have gotten waivers for police & rescue to use drones. I don't see why the fire department would have any issues in getting clearance to ultimately help save the lives of firefighters & fire victims.
aray 13y ago
This is exactly the sort of thing I hope the FAA regulates. Multirotors now still have a very bad track record for long-term reliability, and even any-formfactor remotely operated air systems have been advised not to fly around densely populated areas for fear of harming someone. And you want to fly these vehicles not only in densely populated (residential) areas, but in and around disaster and emergency situations? I can see it being used as a tool by emergency response, but if I was a first responder and someone did that on my site I'd do what I could to get it down and stopping endangering everyone present.
- JshWright 13y ago
  I am a first responder. This would obviously require buy-in from the agency involved (that's the whole point... to provide the guy wearing the white helmet with a live view from a vantage point he can't see while sitting in his SUV across the street).

tron_carter 13y ago

Many municipalities have gotten waivers for police & rescue to use drones. I don't see why the fire department would have any issues in getting clearance to ultimately help save the lives of firefighters & fire victims.

aray 13y ago

This is exactly the sort of thing I hope the FAA regulates. Multirotors now still have a very bad track record for long-term reliability, and even any-formfactor remotely operated air systems have been advised not to fly around densely populated areas for fear of harming someone. And you want to fly these vehicles not only in densely populated (residential) areas, but in and around disaster and emergency situations? I can see it being used as a tool by emergency response, but if I was a first responder and someone did that on my site I'd do what I could to get it down and stopping endangering everyone present.

JshWright 13y ago
I am a first responder. This would obviously require buy-in from the agency involved (that's the whole point... to provide the guy wearing the white helmet with a live view from a vantage point he can't see while sitting in his SUV across the street).