POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Technology you might have in your home right now is keeping local firefighters safe.
Polk County Fire Rescue started its drone program with one drone and one drone pilot back in September. In November, they were key to battling the Lasso Lane mulch and wood pellet fires.
“The thing with the mulch pile is, you can’t always see where the heat is, where the fire is, it’s deep down inside that pile. So the FLIR camera on the drone helped us locate where the hot spots were because it can see through the mulch and the piles,” Chris Jonckheer with Polk County Fire Rescue explained.
“Letting us know where to direct our water, to really get to that and to help us put it out, is what the drone provided. It showed us where the heat signature was, through the mulch.”
These drones not only see much more than the human eye, but because they can fly over fires, they can also make the process of fighting them safer and more successful.
“Your average, every day structure fire, this drone can be utilized to look through the smoke. It can show heat signatures, where our guys are located, where a victim is located in the fire, where they are laying down. And it can tell us where the fire is, inside that building. Without having someone inside the building,” Jonckheer said.
A fire rescue is constantly changing, and the drone can capture all of that with only a one-second delay.
“Normally when we go into a search and rescue or a fire where there is someone entrapped, we are basically going off of what dispatch tells us. What the caller has told us. That person might have moved around, might have changed, they might have crawled to another section of the house. Deploying this drone, will help us to locate that person,” Jonckheer said.
Right now, the department only has one certified drone pilot, but 14 more are in training. The plan is to have them certified by summer, and then to request more drones.
“Ultimately this is going to save lives. That is the ultimate reason for getting this. It’s to save lives, save property, keep others lives from being endangered,” Jonckheer said.
This drone costs about $37,800 dollars, but PCFR was able to purchase it with a grant. There are a few other local fire department with drone programs, but most are either still working on them or do not currently have the means.
- Seminole: Working on it
- Pasco Co: Have drones, use them for several activities
- Lakeland: Due to cost/staff the fire department requests assistance from LPD's drone program
- Tampa: Ordered drones and setting up program.
- Hillsborough Co.: Considering a drone program.
- Polk: Has an active drone program.
- East Manatee: County Hazmat team has drones and can be called out for fires.
- Southern Manatee: Has drones for its Hazmat team
- Bradenton: Does not have one
- St Pete: Does not have a drone program, but is looking into it.
- Citrus: Does not have drones yet.
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