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The Matrice 210 is an enterprise-level drone that is capable of carrying three onboard cameras. Our recommended configuration is to pair the Zenmuse Z30 with the Zenmuse XT2 thermal camera. The Z30 boasts an impressive 30x digital zoom that can focus on details from a long way off.

As more and more drones take to the sky, safety concerns are rising every day. You’ve probably heard news stories about drones that nearly miss, or even hit,...

Starting a drone program for your department is straightforward: you need the right people with the right training and the right equipment to complete the mission.

Fortunately, the law isn’t set in stone. As the drone industry continues to mature, the laws evolve to reflect new capabilities. For instance, many drones now boast sophisticated obstacle-avoidance sensors and software that allow them to follow a “return home” command that brings them back to base on autopilot. The FAA is expecting to continue reshaping the laws after they’ve had enough time to study the data.

Next, you’ll need buy-in from administrators in your department. There are a few key points to consider as part of your presentation:

It’s important to have clear communication within your department about how the drones will be used. While the FAA has provided some regulations in Part 107, that’s just a starting point. In developing your own protocols and procedures, you’ll need to consider questions like:

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Fortunately, there’s a software service that can help put all these concerns to bed. DroneSense is a flight management solution that was built specifically for public safety. Their AirBase platform records flight telemetry data and camera locations to help you be transparent about where drones are flying and what they are looking at.

Different fire departments have different needs. An urban firefighting company will naturally use drones much differently than a wildland volunteer fire department. How you use drones not only determines the type of equipment you’ll need for your program but also the type of paperwork you’ll need to file with the FAA in order to be cleared for launch.

Given the function of a drone and its operation in the national airspace, the FAA has put specific requirements in place to keep users and the public safe. The Remote Pilot Certificate is the best way for public safety agencies to certify their pilots. Prospective pilots are tested on the regulations outlined in Part 107 of the FAA’s rules for small unmanned aircraft.

Thermal cameras are great for cutting the dense smoke you’d normally get from a wildland fire. See a side-by-side video of the thermal camera and a normal camera here:

If you don’t need a thermal camera for your use case, the Mavic Air may be a good choice for you. It can live stream HD video from up to 4 kilometers away from the base station and is able to stay in the air for up to 21 minutes on a full battery charge.

Drones are also useful in the pre-planning stage of fire prevention. With their high-quality photo and video cameras, drones can quickly capture images of the exterior of a structure from all angles, which helps your team identify the best incident response plan before there’s even an incident to worry about.

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Wildland firefighters and Forest Service smokejumpers easily have the most reason to be resentful of drones; in the past few years, civilian drones have been reportedly zipping through wildfire scenes like horseflies. It’s gotten so bad that firefighting crews have had to postpone water drops for fear of hitting a drone in the process. That’s one bug you don’t want to wind up on your windshield.

If you’re an aspiring drone pilot, you may be preparing to take the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) knowledge test (commonly known as the Part 107 test) to earn...

This last question is a doozy. One of the biggest roadblocks with drones entering into day-to-day life is the fear of drone surveillance. Fortunately, many states and towns already have laws on the books governing how drones can be used. Refer to those laws as a way to reassure your citizens that the intent here is to help, not to keep tabs on them.

A great use case for a waiver would be wildland firefighters, where a fire is often in a remote area that could take hours to reach by road. It’s important to start getting data on the wildfire as quickly as possible. Plus, the drones probably wouldn’t be flying over settled areas, so it’s more likely that the FAA might grant the waiver.

With the latest camera technology, it’s possible to stream high-resolution video from a drone in flight to command staff on the scene of a fire. Coordinating with your team on the ground from these eyes in the sky helps you fight the fire more effectively.

After Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016, flood waters were too high to drive out and inspect the damage. Verizon sent out a drone in North Carolina to check cell towers that they were unable to reach. Read more here.

With the upgraded TB55 batteries, this payload will give you about 24 minutes worth of flight time on a max range of 7 kilometers.

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The Matrice’s much smaller cousin, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual carries two permanent onboard cameras, the M2ED Thermal and Visual Cameras. It’s a more cost-effective option for departments who want a reliable thermal camera.

You’ll need support from both inside and outside your department in order to be successful in launching a drone program for your fire department.

That said, there is one way to fly beyond the visual line of sight now, via a Part 107 Waiver. Just so you know though, the FAA is not giving these out to just anybody. In order to have your waiver successfully granted, you’ll need to provide in-depth details to the FAA about what it is you want to do, and why you feel you need a waiver in order to do it.

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While the zoom is not as powerful as the Zenmuse Z30, the Mavic 2 can stay in the sky for an impressive 31 minutes, and transmit data from 8 kilometers away.

First off, you’ll need the people to man the drones. Some resourceful departments have turned to volunteer pilots in the community to form the basis of their pilot corps: this way, you get people who are already experienced and possibly certified, but what’s more, it serves as a good way to reach out to the community and keep your own administrative costs down.

Whether it’s a tornado or a hurricane, there’s a lot of cleanup to do after a disaster. Drones can assist in the information-gathering process so that fire departments can work quickly and effectively to get their communities back into good shape.

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The world of recreational drone use is taking a step towards a safer future. Currently, commercial drone users must pass the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) knowledge exam, commonly...

Drones represent a new frontier for many industries. While you may not need a drone for every problem you and your team face (at least, until they invent a drone capable of carrying a housecat), they are a useful tool that expands your ability to measure and understand a fire. The additional perspective that comes from this extra data will help keep everyone safe, firefighters and citizens alike.

Doing daytime flights doesn’t take much paperwork with the FAA. However, if you need to use drones for search and rescue operations, there’s a good chance you’ll sometimes operate at night, which, at the moment, takes an additional level of certification with the FAA.

We’ve worked with and interviewed several fire departments from across the country. If you need help reviewing your own protocols and procedures, get in touch with us below and we’d be happy to help.

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One of the biggest current drawbacks of the regulatory environment around drones is that you can’t fly them beyond a visual line of sight, which would be a great benefit to firefighters. It’s far easier to launch a drone right from the station and fly it to the scene than it is to cart the drone over to the scene yourself.

While drones probably won’t be able to fight fires single-handedly anytime soon, the information they bring to the table is helping fire departments stay safe and save money.

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Garrett Bryl, a volunteer drone pilot at the Joshua Fire Department, used his drone to aid in search-and-rescue efforts after the worst flooding in years hit the Fort Worth area. Not only was he able to locate a truck in 45 seconds that conventional search and rescue hadn’t been able to find in an hour, but he also assisted with a home rescue.

It’s good to consider how the community may react to a new municipal drone program. It will probably be worth your time to get feedback early from the public. They’ll probably want to know things like:

However, aviation personnel or other staff members who are interested in learning to pilot drones are another great resource to fill your pilot ranks.

Follow our comprehensive guide and you’ll be sure to build an effective, mission-focused drone team in your department and also get your people the quality training they need to be FAA-certified.

The biggest advantage a drone offers to any fire department is information. More data at your disposal helps you and your team stay safe and save money by extinguishing fires faster.