First Responders

Police, fire, and search-and-rescue teams putting drones to work when minutes matter.

1,586

Articles

117

Beats covered

Reporters on beat

Nov 9

Last updated

Flock Safety Alpha drone lifting off from its white rooftop dock inside a fenced enclosure, city skyline behind

Police

Warwick Police Flock Drone Waits On T.F. Green's Zero-Foot FAA Grids

Warwick, RI's $150,000 Flock Alpha police drone has a BVLOS waiver but no airport airspace approval. FAA facility map grids at T.F. Green read 0 feet.

Haye KestelooOct 5

A blue, white and gold VISA hot air balloon floats in a clear blue sky above a multi-lane road and roadside businesses in Albuquerque.

FAA

FBI's Balloon Fiesta No Drone Zone Runs On A Clock: 10.5 Hours A Day

FBI counter-drone teams are enforcing the Balloon Fiesta TFR, but the FAA's two NOTAMs run 5:30 a.m. to noon and 4 to 8 p.m. daily, not around the clock.

Haye KestelooOct 4

Man pointing at a redacted DHS report ranking the DJI Matrice 4T above competing drones, with the Matrice 4T on the table

Blue sUAS

DHS Tested DJI Against Blue UAS and Hid the Scores. Why Weren't We Told?

A DHS addendum obtained by DroneXL scores the DJI Matrice 4T at 4.6 and the Matrice 30T at 4.3 at Hudson Yards, above the Skydio X10D at 3.7. The public report left those numbers out. I think we're allowed to ask why.

Russ 51 DronesOct 2

Kyle Nordfors in a red Weber County Search and Rescue shirt and sunglasses holds a DJI Matrice 30T overhead with one arm against a blue sky, propellers spinning, with a second man in a dark jacket watching from behind.

DOCKET 26-189

Utah Rescue Captain Tells DC the FCC Drone Ban Will Cost Lives

Kyle Nordfors takes the FCC drone ban fight to The Hill: 25 to 30 lives saved, searches cut from 4.5 hours to under one, no US drone that matches.

Haye KestelooOct 2

A gray DJI Matrice 4 series drone with a multi-sensor camera payload hovers in front of a glass office facade.

DHS addendum

DHS Left DJI's Scores Out of Its Blue UAS Report. Here They Are

A DHS addendum marked For Official Use Only scores DJI's Matrice 4T at 4.6 and Matrice 30T at 4.3 at Hudson Yards, against 3.7 for the Skydio X10D.

Haye KestelooOct 1

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue ArcherFRS blood delivery drone on the ground at the Public Safety Operations Complex in Tampa

WHOLE BLOOD

Hillsborough Blood Drones Launch in October, Flown From Sarasota

Hillsborough County approved its whole blood drone program for October. ArcherFRS pilots in Sarasota fly it, and no announcement says what it costs.

Haye KestelooSep 30

A Weber County Search and Rescue member in a red jacket with white crosses leans over a folding table beside a white van, fitting batteries into a DJI Matrice 30T drone sitting on a stack of black hard cases.

DSPA

DSPA Breaks Charter to Take DHS Blue UAS Report to Congress

DSPA's Vic Moss asks pilots to call Congress over DHS's Blue UAS test: name an agency to test every drone's security, stop banning by country of origin.

Haye KestelooSep 28

A Manna Air Delivery employee in a white jacket holds a Manna delivery drone overhead against a blue sky

Manna Aero

Manna Pitches Tulsa Fire Drone AEDs, an Idea Dublin Never Launched

Tulsa Fire gets a free Manna drone pilot for defibrillators and trauma kits. The Irish trials Manna cites: one simulated drop from a hub it has since shut.

Haye KestelooSep 27

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