Location: Enbridge laydown yard in Edmonton Drones provide a valuable perspective to hazardous jobs like firefighting where strategy is key to safety and success. Live footage can be relayed back to the mobile command truck's viewing monitors which can relay the video feed to the regional headquarters. Live feeds can also be sent to individual ground crew, who can be viewing themselves in relation to the fire on a arm mounted smartphone, or something similar to google glass visor technolgy. This will allow them to see if wind is looping fire around behind them in the forest, or see where victims are, or even if their water stream is landing on target. Thermal cameras can be mounted showing hottest spots in the fire reveal hot coals that are invisible to the naked eye see victims and other crew through the dark and even black smoke A fully equipped multipurpose Firefighting drone should cost less than $10,000 They can be controlled remotely by an operator or by using GPS waypoints. Warnings to drone operators: Radiant energy will effect the drone if too close too long, there is also little reason to approach a fire, the primary benefit to having a drone on the field is to add to situational awareness. -The main hazard is the heat column, usually in the same path as the smoke, avoid this column. entering the column will do thermal damage to the drone, and also distort the view. In this video, you see I approach the heat column near the beginning. Also, note within the video the fire creates a vertical vortex of smoke and fire. -Helicopters, and other manned aircraft like water bombers pose a hazard. Depending on your location and situation, aircraft have a minimum altitude they must follow. As a Aerial Platform Operator, you have a maximum altitude, stay well below it. Make sure the other aircraft are aware there is a UAV below X altitude in the designated area. -Do not fly too close to the ground crew. There is no point in seeing what they can already see unless requested by the Captain to investigate or document something on camera. -Do not go between the fire crew and the fire, it is distracting, and also likely in the line of the water cannon. It is entirely possible for drones to be used to lift people out of situations, ie pulling someone out who has fallen in through ice, a flying rope ladder for a apartment fire. Or other useful purposes like an aerial launcher for the FIT-5 canisters into high level apartments, water bombing, or two drones carrying a fire resistant sheet to lay over a fire to smother it (would have worked well in this video) UAVs will not replace Firemen, they are just another useful tool.
Jared Eglinski
CC BY 3.0
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