Tag: drones

Roseville Fire plans major drone expansion to speed emergency response

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advanced agricultural drone spraying crops

What once required firefighters on the ground can now be done from the sky, and Roseville Fire says it’s only the beginning. While drones have been part of the department’s toolbox since 2020, fire leaders are now looking to expand the program with a long-term vision of placing a drone at every fire station in the city. The goal is to launch drones to emergencies within moments, giving firefighters and police real-time aerial intelligence before crews arrive on scene. Within about a minute of a request, firefighters can already have a drone airborne, streaming live video back to incident commanders.

“We can see if we’re starting to get thermal runaway, an incident that might be too dangerous to put people in,” said Roseville Fire Captain Jonathan Davidson. “We can start getting video and transmitting it down to people on the ground who need that intel.” Davidson became the department’s first licensed drone pilot when Roseville Fire launched its drone program in 2020. Now, city leaders are looking at the next evolution of the technology. “They want to put a drone on every single fire station in town,” Davidson said. “That drone can launch from the fire station, and there would be a person in the control center able to fly that drone and provide the aerial reconnaissance.” The expanded system would allow drones to respond automatically to vehicle crashes, fires and other emergencies while being operated remotely from a centralized control center.

Fire officials say the added aerial perspective can help incident commanders make faster, safer decisions before firefighters enter potentially dangerous situations. As the program grows, so will the need for trained drone operators. Roseville Fire Battalion Chief Thanh Pham believes military veterans are especially well-suited for the role because of their experience making critical decisions with limited information. “We’re pretty much problem solvers,” Pham said. “A lot of times in an emergency, we’re given about 60 to 70 percent of the facts and you have to take action. I think that’s a skill set a lot of veterans have that can translate to civilian life or the fire service.” That’s where the Veterans Workforce Alliance hopes to help, connecting former service members with departments building drone programs. “When an organization needs drones and drone operators, the military has them,” said Veterans Workforce Alliance board member Nathan Champion.

“About 200,000 military personnel transition out of the military every year, so that’s a perfect source for organizations that have that need.” For Davidson, the expanding drone program reflects how much the fire service has evolved over the past 25 years. “There’s so many different things that we do in this profession that are outside of just taking a hose into a burning building and putting water on the fire,” he said. From boots on the ground to eyes in the sky, Roseville firefighters say drones are becoming an increasingly important tool, helping crews gather critical information faster, improve firefighter safety and shape the future of emergency response.

Source: Roseville Fire plans major drone expansion to speed emergency response – CBS Sacramento

A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.
Proverbs 29:23

Psalm 5:8

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. In the verse David is praying in the morning while people who hate him…

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Several Twin Cities police departments considering the use of drones as first responders

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Police drone with flashing lights flying above an urban area with tall buildings and a river

Several municipalities in the Twin Cities metro area are considering a program that would make drones first responders, essentially sending a camera in the sky to 911 calls ahead of police and firefighters. The Edina Police Department just concluded a two-week trial period and the Bloomington Police Department started testing drones soon after.  “[The drones] can go out there and be there before we have to put actual humans on the ground,” said Damon Bitney, Bloomington’s assistant police chief.  Bitney sees this technology as a way to keep first responders safer, while improving response times and tracking down suspects. “If we don’t have to send cars, that means that’s less cars that are going lights and sirens to calls,” Bitney said. “

It also means that if someone’s trying to hide or do something, or there’s a significant incident, that we can have, hopefully, have eyes on to see where those people might be.” While the drones are in the air responding, police officers are monitoring the camera feed and location from the station. It allows them to send out real-time information and, Bitney hopes, to deploy resources more effectively.  Sgt. Jason Behr from the Edina Police Department said speed is also a metric his officers are taking a closer look at. “When you call 911, you wanted them there five minutes ago, not 10 minutes from now,” Behr said. “If you can get somebody there faster and provide that overwatch and that insight to the officers, it just helps with public safety.”  Behr said over two weeks, the drones responded to a few dozen calls, including assault, theft and a medical emergency.  The drone program is already in place at the Minnetonka Police Department.

Since August, police there have logged over 600 flights. A spokesperson for the city said drones were first to the scene 68% of the time and police cleared 18% of calls without sending officers. The program costs about $260,000 a year to operate. The City of Minneapolis is also considering piloting a similar drone program. During a council committee meeting last week, several council members raised issues with privacy and unnecessary surveillance.  Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw is backing the pilot program and, during the meeting, praised the way drones could cut down on response times in her district. 

Source: Several Twin Cities police departments considering the use of drones as first responders – CBS Minnesota

Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.
Isaiah 43:4

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