First responders

Specialized Atlanta-based UAV consulting firm Skyfire is itself launching into aerial action with the release of its SF2 drone, which is designed and manufactured specifically for public safety and critical sector operators.

Two influential US aerial public safety organizations are teaming up to adopt and promote standardized methods in their drone testing programs – their effort to enhance safety and improve development of remote of UAV use in emergencies by police, fire fighters, emergency medical technicians, and other first responders.

Canadian drone services specialist Volatus Aerospace is partnering with a US company to provide fully integrated mobile command centers to first responders and other UAV operators in public safety missions. 

Specialized Swedish drone services company Everdrone has long been an innovator in public UAV operations, but last month it actually made history when one of its craft flew an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to a man in Sweden who’d suffered a cardiac arrest, saving his life.

For all those first responders out there who’ve been a bit tardy in taking advantage of a nice opportunity, here’s good news. Connecticut-based UAV tech, cloud, and software solutions provider Aquiline Drones has announced it is extending its offer to provide free pilot training and education to emergency and rescue workers for another six months.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a self-funded nonprofit organization, has released a free online training program to help more than 29,000 fire departments in the US improve existing public safety drone programs and establish new drone initiatives.

As far as UAV flights go, this one supremely qualifies as beyond visual line of sight. Last month, Swedish specialized drone services company Everdrone successfully controlled the delivery of an automated external defibrillator (AED) from a distance of 800 kilometers away – and an entirely different country.

A tragic moment led to the invention of BRINC Drones: the 2017 mass shooting at The Mandalay Bay resort in the company’s hometown of Las Vegas. As first responders risked their lives to engage in a physical search of the hotel tower, a 17-year-old boy wondered why a drone – that could fly and communicate inside the building – wasn’t being used to serve as the crew’s eyes and ears. Now 21, Blake Resnick has just raised $25 million in Series A funding to accelerate his mission to keep people safe in dangerous situations.

Chula Vista, the second-largest city in San Diego County, California, uses drones as “first responders.” The flying robots are often the first to arrive on the scene when an incident is reported, and play an instrumental role in catching criminals or assisting detentions. And to make sure that citizens retain their trust in these drones, Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) gives residents the ability to view the exact location, flight path, and purpose of each police drone deployment.

A Wingcopter drone recently flew a distance of 16 miles (26 kilometers), transporting blood samples nearly twice as fast as ground-based vehicles, to showcase how the use of drones could improve emergency medical care in rural areas significantly.

Aircraft engine fires, a collision between two jets, a fire on a flight deck with missing maintenance personnel, a small airplane crashing into a warehouse… these are only some of the emergency scenarios that an airport’s aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) unit have to deal with.

As first responders continue to embrace drones for emergency missions across the globe, a new map dashboard hopes to facilitate communication, coordination, and collaboration between various public safety agencies. This free, interactive global map and directory of emergency services drone programs is now home to over 900 agencies from more than 20 countries – and the numbers are rising steadily.

The Mobile Police Department in Alabama has developed a drone rescue kit that can deliver a floatation device to swimmers in distress, and help stabilize them until a swim team can reach their location. What makes this “Float Responder” aquatic rescue drone even more special is the fact that it has been designed to honor the memory of a first responder who died during a surf rescue earlier this year.

Residents and businesses in the 4000 block of Louis Avenue in Holiday, Florida, knew things were serious when Pasco County Fire Rescue issued evacuation orders last week. But just “how serious” is something that even first responders didn’t fully understand until they had a thermal drone up in the air to monitor what was initially considered a “small fire?”

Houston-based drone startup Paladin has spent the last three years living with first responders to build an autonomous system that runs itself, so that emergency personnel can focus on saving lives. Now, the company says it’s ready to unveil the system publicly and provide instant situational awareness to even more first responders across the United States.

It’s difficult to imagine the scale of the tragedy caused by torrential rains and flooding in Germany, Belgium, and elsewhere. But drones can help give us — and, more importantly, First Responders — a bigger picture. And one drone video shows a massive sinkhole in Germany.

Rescues by drone aren’t new. But they’re important. And, as first responders continue to adopt drones as a key part of their tool kit, these stories are becoming more frequent. This one, in Wales, features some video of the operation.

Unfortunately, it’s wildfire season again in western Canada and parts of the US. Even more unfortunately, a drone has already gotten in the way at an active fire where crewed aircraft are deployed.

Nearly half of the people who drown in the Great Lakes every year drown in Lake Michigan. So now, one city in West Michigan is adding a specialized drone to its water rescue tools arsenal. Not only will this drone help South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) responders to locate distressed swimmers, but it will also drop a floatation device to the swimmer in danger, reaching them about three minutes faster than a lifeguard.

A new, device-agnostic live-streaming platform has been released, with drone operators one of its target markets. The concept? To create a secure live stream from the air that can be privately shared.

We’ve seen drones used to rescue people. We’ve seen drones used to track suspects. But we have never, ever seen something like this. And, odds are, neither have you.