FDSOA Symposium: Drones Can Be Valuable Tools For Responders and Firefighters

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As the price of drones drop and technological advances soar, the role of unmanned aircraft in the fire service will undoubtedly grow.

That’s what two experts on the topic of drones told attendees of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association annual Apparatus Symposium.

Peter Darley, executive vice president and COO of W.S. Darley and Jason Darley, the North American accounts manager for the Pump Division of W.S. Darley were co-presenters of “Drone Technology in the Fire Service.”

“Giving firefighters and commanders a bird’s eye view of the scene is a very big deal,” Peter Darley said. “It helps with situational awareness and helps commanders make decisions on whether they want to send people in or not.”

He said drones are expendable where as humans are obviously not, so it makes sense to risk a mechanical tool over a life.

Jason Darley said drones can keep responders aware of dangerous and changing situations in real time.

The Darley company got into the drone market about two years ago and even in that short time, the technology has improved dramatically and the price as dropped significantly, Peter said. He added that because of the significant technology that goes into drones, Darley has a third party making the drones for them and they are the soul vendor for its private labeled drone.

“Drones are indeed coming to the fire service,” he said. “It’s soon not going to be a question of having one, but having more than one.”

The Darley duo discussed the different kinds of drones available and how they are controlled. Some are battery powered, some are gasoline powered and some are solar powered. There are even tethered drones that have almost unlimited flight time once deployed.

Some drones can be held in the palm of one’s hand, and there are some coming on to the market that are large enough to move people. They can be controlled by smart phones or by dedicated controllers and computers, they said.

“Drones are flying sensors,” Peter said. “They are like smart phones with wings.”

And the drones themselves are becoming smarter, he said, noting that if a command is given to fly off, and the battery level is low, the command will be ignored and the drone will fly home to where it was deployed.

“They are smart enough that they’re not going to let you destroy them,” he said.

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Other advantages to the fire service once deployed, they can stay exactly put in the sky making adjustments at the rate of 400 times per second.

“Even with a headwind, they will stay over your scene,” Peter said.

Most drones will fly about 30-minutes with a normal payload and normal weather conditions, Jason said, noting that drones can be fitted with thermal imaging cameras as well for added capabilities.

The regulation of drones is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Peter who said the rules are they can only be flown in daylight, in a line of sight by humans. There is some debate whether those who operate larger drones need to be licensed pilots, or if they can just take the ground portion of the pilots’ test.

“They are aircraft so they must be regulated, somehow,” Peter said, adding there are regulations in place regarding operations of drones within five miles of airports. In fact, some drones are programmed to shut down and not operate within airport zones.

“You can take them brand new, out of the box and they might not fly because they’re too close to an airport,” Peter said. “It’s like they hit a bubble and they cannot fly.”

And, while the FAA regulates the flight of drones, at the moment, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is silent when it comes to regulations for drones, according to Jason.

The public has had a few things to say about drones, and not all are flattering, the Darley's said.

For instance, some members of the public think drones are invading their privacy and they have a right to take them out of the sky, Jason said. However, it’s more likely that the drone owners have more rights to fly than individuals do to blast them out of the sky. There was some discussion with members of the audience citing case law is being decided on the topic currently.

Peter said drones can’t interfere with fire operations, particularly during forest fires. Some well-meaning drone owners will rush to the scene only to become a nuisance. He said the U.S. Forest Service had to ground firefighting planes 13 times due to drones. He also played a clip of a fire department downing a pesky drone at a fire scene with a water stream from a handline.

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Jason said there were more than 700,000 drones sold in the United States in 2015 and authorities are trying to figure out how to monitor them for safety and security.

For all the pros and cons, Peter is convinced that drones will be great assets to the fire service. They can be deployed quickly to get firefighters information quickly so life and death decisions can be made.

They can also be used for investigation and training too.

“It is very good technology that will keep responders safe,” he said.

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