Fire fighters

Drone public safety and emergency program consultancy Skyfire is taking a major step beyond its habitual advisory activities to police and fire departments by offering its own drone first responder (DFR) services as an outsourced solution to assembling in-house UAV units.

Specialized heavy-lift drone producer Parallel Flight Technologies has been tapped by USDA Wildlife Services to adapt its Firefly UAV developed to assist firefighters for a natural wildlife preservation project aiming to eradicate a destructive population of invasive rats on Wake Island.

A pair of ground-breaking startups are pooling their tech capacities, hardware, and experience in an effort to develop drones specially designed for deployment by firefighters, using heat resistant materials and 3D printing power to speed production and lower costs.

Against the growing number and increased destruction of wildfires across the planet over the last several years, it’s become more frequent to hear reports of UAV assisting firefighters in the battle to put them out. Now the Australian state of Victoria is using drones to light fires as well.

As an initiative, it qualifies as “doing good for drones for good.” Tech, cloud, and solutions provider Aquiline Drones is offering its uncrewed aerial system (UAS) commercial training and education program free of charge to first responders across the US in gratitude for the work they do on everyone’s behalf.

The Minnesota Interagency Fire Center has sent out a message to drone pilots to remind them not to fly anywhere near wildfires. The fire department shared the reminder in a press release with a great way for everyone to remember it. When you fly, we can’t.

Fire managers across Virginia are turning to drones to help start prescribed burns to save time and ensure the correct areas are burned. The drone drops “dragon eggs” made up of a combustible material that ignites on impact with the ground.

Drone startup Robotto has developed its Autonomous Wildfire Recognition and Analytics (AWRA) drone to help firefighters better understand an active wildfire and stay one step ahead of it. Robotto is a spin-off of a full-year bachelor thesis in robotics at Aalborg University in Denmark.

Drone training company DARTdrones has partnered with Adorama Business Solutions to give away a DJI Mavic Air 2 to a lucky agency and $100K in free or reduced-cost drone training to public safety agencies.

A drone equipped with a thermal sensor helped firefighters in Florida determine where the flames were, even though they were not visible. It was the first time the crew had used the drone in this particular kind of situation.

In Victoria, Australia, firefighters have welcomed a new aviation drone unit that will support fire fighting efforts on the ground. The newly announced unit will use DJI drones to improve situational awareness and search and rescue efforts.

A woman that has chosen to stay anonymous has given the Putnam and East Putnam fire departments in Connecticut $4500 to spend on drone technology. The woman’s generous gift allowed the fire departments to purchase brand new thermal drones.

An illegal drone has grounded aerial firefighting efforts at the Cameron Peak Fire over in Colorado, resulting in authorities sending out an urgent warning message.

The British government has set aside £33 million (~$43 million) in funding to be spent on firefighting and COVID delivery drones as a part of a ground-breaking aviation project to solve major global challenges. So far, 20 winning ideas have been funded by the UK government.

Tethered drone maker Fotokite has partnered with French Desautel Group to aid firefighters on the front line with a set of eyes in the sky. The Fotokite drone will be directly integrated into future fire trucks with the ability to add it to current ones as well.

West Haven, Connecticut’s fire department will receive a new Autel EVO 2 drone, thanks to the National Public Safety Drone Donation Program (NPS-DDP) and PropelUAS. The fire department will receive a new Autel EVO 2 drone, which will be delivered in person.

On Saturday, a drone was spotted flying in the restricted airspace above the Red Salmon Fire in California, slowing firefighting efforts. The incident marks the 21st time a drone has flown into firefighting airspace this year alone in the U.S.

According to a graphic released by the National Interagency Fire Center, known drone incursions into firefighting airspace are on the decline. Despite more drones being in the air than ever before, people seem to be better educated.

The Norwich Fire Department in Connecticut has begun using a drone to get a set of eyes in the sky when firefighting and responding to accidents. The volunteer fire department got its latest piece of high tech equipment today, thanks to the National Public Safety Drone Donation Program (NPS-DDP).

Scottsdale Fire Department in Arizona has begun to use drones in its day-to-day operations to improve the safety of firefighters. The drones allow firefighters to get an aerial view over fires and crash scenes to better understand them.

Earlier this week, Queensland’s fire and emergency services reminded drone pilots to stay away from an active wildfire in Kooralbyn, Queensland. The agency took to social media to spread the message as best it can.