Fire Technology: Drones Soar Following Hurricanes

Many public safety agencies have taken to the air, utilizing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) after the rule changes in 2016 (see firehouse.com/12263203).

Over the last year, reports have identified over 60 incidents where UAS (aka drones) have saved the lives of people and/or animals. Additionally, there have been over 100 reports of successful UAS missions by fire, law enforcement, search and rescue, and emergency management. The uses include but are not limited to structural firefighting, wildfire firefighting, hazmat incidents, search and rescue, damage assessment, critical infrastructure inspection, shore patrol (for sharks), hostage/SWAT ops, civil unrest, fugitive apprehension, technical rescues, pre-incident planning, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, incident scene documentation, traffic forensics/accident investigation, bomb threat assessment, temporary communications and more. 

More recently, UAS missions soared to unprecedented heights following hurricanes Harvey and Irma. 

Responding to disaster zones

Early on, drones demonstrated their value by providing a better and quicker understanding of the magnitude of a significant weather event that resulted in severe flooding and/or major structural damage. Following Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, there were literally hundreds of documented UAS missions flown for search and rescue, rescue monitoring, damage assessment, patrol for looting, and to gain a general situational awareness of present conditions.

Hurricane Irma was another example of record UAS flights. The Center for Robotics Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) reported that following Hurricane Irma, it supported Roboticists Without Borders’ member Florida State University Center for Disaster Risk Policy (CDRP) deployment to Collier County, FL. The CDRP effort was led by David Merrick, CDRP director, with Justin Adams of Kovar and Associates. They documented 247 UAS missions covering 491 critical infrastructure targets, surpassing the earlier record of 119 set during Hurricane Harvey. 

Ryan English with FlyMotion reported that they pre-deployed 16 teams to north Florida, St. Augustine, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Their assignment was to assess damage to critical infrastructure, such as utilities and communications towers. They flew 519 missions initially and as late as Sept. 29 had flown 650 missions following Hurricane Irma. They anticipate that they will have flown over 1,000 missions when finished. English also shared that while they prepared as best they could, they experienced situations where flooding surpassed expectations and their personnel had to move. Also, one of their team member’s vehicles was destroyed by a falling tree.

All of the teams with whom I spoke had great praise for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its assistance working through special government interests (SGIs) and emergency Certificates of Authorization (eCOAs). While it seemed a little cumbersome and time-consuming at first due to the sheer volume of missions, the FAA adapted quickly and made a huge difference for the public safety UAS providers.

There were several cases where there were reports of spontaneous unaffiliated volunteer remote pilots who flew drones without coordinating with the local and/or state emergency operations centers. While well intended, they were flying in some areas that had already been flown, creating some confusion for those directing air operations. As most public safety responders and pilots know, during catastrophic events like these hurricanes, those who are being deployed must be self-sufficient, as there is often no food, water, shelter or power. Additionally, volunteers are not trained for some of the horrors that they may encounter, such as unexpected flooding, health hazards from contaminated water, dead or injured people or livestock, looters, and a long list of other health and safety issues.

Given the number of UAS flights during these hurricanes, drones have proven to be an effective and safe tool that dramatically and quickly provide situational awareness for better decision-making during the management of an incident or major event. Equally as important, there were no known or reported accidents involving UAS in support of hurricane operations.

Lessons learned

Let’s review some of the lessons learned from the hurricane response:

• UAS missions immediately following catastrophic events are much different than normal daily UAS flights in that they are generally more emergent in nature, more complex, and require more coordination.
• UAS teams should only be deployed as requested/assigned to reduce additional and unnecessary burden on the already stressed emergency operations center (EOC).
• Due to the newness of drone technology and the complexity of these hurricanes, there is a need to develop uniform strategies for air operations. This includes implementing the air operations as defined in the incident command system to coordinate manned/unmanned aircraft and maintain deconfliction of the national air space.
• The FAA SGI/eCOA process needs to be automated.
• A communications plan should be inclusive of air operations at the local and state levels.
• Anyone flying a UAS must always check the Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs).
• In order to get SGI approval (formerly emergency COA), you must be a government agency or have a government sponsor.
• UAS teams deployed in these situations must be trained in the Incident Command System (ICS) in order to effectively work in the public safety environment.
• While ICS does cover air ops, it does not address the nuances of UAS.
• UAS teams deploying must be prepared to be self-sufficient with their own food, water, shelter, power and communications.
• Due to power outages and infrastructure damage, communications will be challenging, especially in more rural areas from fallen trees, downed power lines and communications outages, so teams should be equipped with several alternatives to include satellite communications.
• Within the UAS, geo-fence programming, which prevents flights in geographic areas with certain air space restrictions, slows the process and must be planned for. Ideally, geo-fencing should be removed from credentialed public safety agencies permanently and in advance.
• Expect that manned aircraft will unexpectedly enter the air space of your assigned mission, so be prepared to place your UAS at a safe location or altitude until it passes.
• There were issues with the lack of communication between UAS teams on the ground with low-flying helicopters.
• There are likely to be other UAS in the area, like the news media and/or hobbyist.
• Don’t depend on anything that you do not have with you. Even if planning to ship supplies prior to deployment, shipping may be stopped early as they did prior to Irma.
• There will be a great deal of data to capture, process and share which identifies the need for a data strategy.
• Events like this further validate the need for UAS remote ID (the electronic identification of UAS) and an integrated unmanned aircraft traffic management (UTM) system to see and coordinate multiple UAS operating in the national air space.
• UAS teams and aircraft are not presently typed/classified, nor listed in the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).

CRASAR points

CRASAR offers some valuable points related to UAS missions. The average time of a mission and number of combined missions depends on the complexity and nature of the missions. According to CRASAR, during Hurricane Harvey, most of CRASAR’s flights were one-objective missions, although the data from these flights were used to support other emergency support functions.

Following Hurricane Harvey, the UAS flights in Ft. Bend, TX, handled a variety of tasks, including conducting rapid spot checks of people in distress as well as the extent of flood and tornado damage; determining how many people had not evacuated and access routes to neighborhoods; projecting how long the neighborhoods would be cut off; informing the public and dispelling rumors (e.g., allowing County Judge Hebert to immediately and directly address citizens’ concerns); systematically documenting damage for federal disaster relief and future planning; projecting river flooding by monitoring the river and confirming river flood inundation models; and monitoring the river and condition of over 100 miles of levees throughout the county.

A single flight at Hurricane Irma (arrival, flight, departure) averaged 16 minutes and covered two targets. With a coordinated plan, two two-person teams captured 91 infrastructure sites in 12 flights. Hurricane Irma flights did not experience issues with self-deployed UAS teams or hobbyist as they did at Harvey.

To UAS pilots, CRASAR advises that the initial data collected is just to define the extent/impact of the event. As such, aim to keep the data simple, as overly complex data can be cumbersome and unnecessary for the agency. Further, if you come across a true emergency, call 9-1-1 and the agency for which you are flying. Don’t use social media as a way to request assistance.

What’s ahead

UAS will continue to add value to public safety operations, and will continue to evolve exponentially in the areas of flight time, payloads (cameras, sensors, infrared technology, LIDAR, etc.) and flight versatility. On the present trajectory, more fire departments and public safety agencies will be implementing UAS into their daily operations as well as during catastrophic events. 

For additional information on how to implement a public safety UAS program, visit the National Council on Public Safety UAS website, publicsafetyUAS.org.