The Oklahoma City Fire Department has a brand new kind of drone to assist combat blazes and save lives.
OKCFD acquired six new tethered drones with thermal imaging cameras a few month in the past. These drones differ from the division’s three current wi-fi drones in that they’re tethered to a base.
This permits any firefighter to function them with out present process drone pilot coaching.
“They don’t take away from our staffing, so as soon as we pull on scene, we can throw the base of the drone out there, push a button, and it launches,” Oklahoma City Fire Department assistant public information officer and Capt. Scott Douglas said.
The thermal imaging cameras allow the tethered drones to detect sources of heat through thick smoke and other obstructions.
“This offers us the flexibility to have a look at the totally different components of the construction and see the place probably the most warmth signature is,” Douglas mentioned. “So if one part of the building is hotter than the rest, that gives us a great idea of where the fire is located.”
Not solely can the thermal imaging cameras detect hotspots, they’ll additionally detect physique warmth and assist firefighters find victims who could also be trapped in a constructing or ejected after a wreck.
Douglas said crews used a tethered drone last week throughout a big blaze close to South Robinson Avenue and Southwest fifteenth Street.
“We pulled up to a commercial fire alarm, and what appeared to be a basic three, 4,000-square-foot structure wound up to be a lot larger than that,” mentioned Douglas. “We had restricted entry across the constructing, so we launched these tethered drones, and instantly, we received a full aerial view of the incident that was occurring.”
The tethered drones can fly 150 feet. Operators control its altitude and its camera by using an iPad.
Firefighters will continue using its three wireless drones, as well, which can be very helpful when deployed during grassfires and other widespread blazes.
“We put these drones within the air. We can shortly see what’s forward of the fireplace, what’s round it, and the place we have to deploy our firefighters to guard probably housing addition or another constructions,” Douglas mentioned.
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