Last night, a massive fire destroyed the roof and spire of the Norte Dame in Paris. DJI drones helped firefighters put out the inferno. French firefighters used the drones, likely a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual and an M210 borrowed from the culture and interior ministries, to aid them in tackling the blaze. The unmanned aircraft provided insight into how the fire was spreading and helped firefighters to determine the most effective positions of fire hoses.
As we fully support female drone pilots, we’d like to point out that in a short video from the French Ministry of the Interior a woman is seen at the controls of what seems to be a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drone.
Update: Gabriel Plus, spokesperson for the French firefighters was reported to have said:
“It is thanks to these drones, to this new technique absolutely unavoidable today, that we could make tactical choices to stop this fire at a time when it was potentially occupying the two belfries.”
DJI drones helped firefighters to tackle the Norte Dame inferno
The fire that damaged the roof and spire of the Norte Dame in Paris might have caused a lot more damage if it wasn’t for the DJI drones that firefighters borrowed from the culture and interior ministries. The aerial vantage points from the drones helped the firefighters to determine how the fire was spreading and where to position the fire hoses to get the blaze under control. There was a concern that the fire would spread to the two Gothic bell towers that mark the front of the cathedral. Recent news reports indicate that the towers did not incur any structural damage as a result of the fire.
The two DJI drones that were used by the French firefighters are likely the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual and the DJI M210 as French media pointed out that both aircraft were outfitted with thermal cameras.
Gabriel Plus, a spokesperson for the fire brigade, told FranceInfo that the drone aided officials in making decisions that in turn saved the Notre Dame’s two belfries at a critical moment. He said:
“The drones allowed us to use our available means in the best possible way.”
Gabriel Plus was later reported to have said:
“It is thanks to these drones, to this new technique absolutely unavoidable today, that we could make tactical choices to stop this fire at a time when it was potentially occupying the two belfries.”
A video from the French Ministry of the Interior shows some of the drone footage as well as their operators. As we fully support female drone pilots, we’d like to point out that in one of the shots, a woman is seen holding the controls of what is likely a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drone.
According to a report from the French Newspaper Libération, the use of a helicopter would have been less flexible and more expensive.
Reportedly an ‘extinguisher robot’ was used inside the cathedral, this allowed firefighters to get the blaze under control without putting any lives at risk.
“It is thanks to these drones, to this new technique absolutely unavoidable today, that we could make tactical choices to stop this fire at a time when it was potentially occupying the two belfries,” Paris firefighters spokesman Gabriel Plus said.
— Brendan Schulman (@dronelaws) April 17, 2019
— Alexandre Fremont (@alex_fremont) April 15, 2019
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