A thermal drone from the Bedford Fire Department located two missing hikers on Sharp Top Mountain in Virginia on Christmas day. The thermal camera on the drone allowed the fire department to quickly find the lost people.
Aerospace company, Pegasus Imagery based in Edmonton, Canada is using high-tech drones and artificial intelligence to aid firefighters in their battle against out-of-control wildfires.
California Fire Departments are increasingly turning to Silicon Valley technology, such as drones, satellite images, and artificial intelligence to more effectively fight bigger blazes. In a recent article, Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman of the Menlo Park District said “Take the handcuffs off,” he said. “Let us fly [drones].”
A firefighter’s drone captured a burning apartment in Hornell City, NY. The drone footage shows the fire crew battling the fire that fortunately left nobody injured, although two dogs were killed in the blaze.
Firefighters in Broward County in Florida used a thermal DJI drone to help extinguish a small house fire in West Park at 8 p.m. last Saturday.
Firefighters used a thermal drone to help them fight a fire in a Lauderhill home on Wednesday afternoon. The thermal imaging capabilities of the unmanned aircraft enabled the firefighters to quickly establish where in the building the fire was located. It was the first time the Lauderhill Fire Rescue crew used a drone this way.
On Saturday a drone interfered with helicopters that were involved in fighting the Cameron Peak fire in Colorado. As part of the fire fighting efforts, helicopters were dropping water in the Pingree Park area when they were forced to stop because of an illegally flown drone.
Today in the Washington Post, drone imagery helps to tell the story of Berry Creek and the North Complex Fire that devastated the small town in California.
On Monday, an Autel Evo I drone was donated to the East Great Plain Volunteer Fire Department in Norwich, CT. The drone was donated by Autel Robotics and FoxFury Lighting to the National Public Safety Drone Donation Program, which in turn donated the equipment to the fire department.
Update: an earlier version of this article referred to an Autel EVO II, whereas it is an Autel EVO I instead.
Fireball-dropping drones are the latest technology that is used by firefighters in California to battle the unprecedented wildfires. The drones are arguably the greatest innovation in fire fighting this year says a National Geographic reporter.