Phoenix Fire Department announces use of drones to fight fires

Earlier this month, the Phoenix Fire Department began using drones to help crews on the ground better do their jobs. The department has three drones and FAA certifications for eight drone pilots.

Phoenix Fire Cpt. Kenny Overton said the drones flying overhead give firefighters already on the scene a safe way to get more information.

“This is going to enable us to deliver better service to the citizens of Phoenix and also better protect our firefighters in active incidents," Overton said.

The program has been implemented since June 6, aiding with active structure fires. The drones send a live video feed to the command team’s monitors.

Overton, who is FAA certified himself, says the aerial view gives firefighters more opportunities to make informed decisions in intense situations, like spotting possible hazards or helping with search and rescue operations.

Overton noted that the use of drones is supplementary to firefighters' initial response. 

 

FAA Takes Public Input On Long-Distance Drone Flights

 I know many readers would disagree when I say that electric aviation is not the future. But, when you hear me go on to say that electric aviation is the present, you realize I’m not poo poo-ing electric aviation, but I may be too optimistic. The fact is: yes, electric aviation is already here. While we won’t see an electric version of a 747 any time soon, flights that once went to planes that guzzle dirty leaded avgas or kerosene are now often happening with battery-electric “drones”.

(Officially, they’re Small Unmanned Aerial Systems or sUAS, and aren’t drones because they require a pilot, but that’s all semantics)

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Three Healthcare Organizations Launch Drone Delivery with Zipline

Three Healthcare Organizations Launch Drone Delivery with Zipline @UASMagazine: Three U.S. healthcare organizations - Novant Health, Magellan Rx Management, and Cardinal Health on June 28, 2022 began long-range drone deliveries in North Carolina.

First Responders Reflect on Lessons Learned from Surfside

First responders and specialized units rushed to the Champlain Towers South within hours after the building collapsed on June 24, 2021. 

“To get two full-sized urban search and rescue teams there within the first 24 hours is unheard of,” said Dave Downey, the former Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief, who now works with the Florida State Fire Marshal.

Downey, who was in the command post at Surfside, said being able to communicate effectively with all the different response teams was key as well as getting rescuers the tools they needed.  

“...As a tool broke, we just moved it off and moved a new tool in and they repaired the tool that was broken. There was no interruption. We had never done that.”

In addition, they learned that heavy cranes need to arrive almost as quickly as the search teams. 

“You can’t work a collapse rescue without cranes, without excavators and making sure that you know where these are and how to get them into your area,” Downey said.  

The rescue teams also used drones. 

“We were able to fly a drone into the underground parking garage that was completely pancaked and to be able to get around vehicles and do as close to a search as we could for any victims,” Downey said.  

The team members who worked the site told NBC 6 that the technology the Israelis brought to the scene made a difference.  

 “Almost a reenactment of the building, how it fell, where people could possibly be in the rubble,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Erik Sada. “It was kind of a new way of searching and finding people we have not had in the past.”

Downey added, “They were able to map that out and help us line up stairwells, rooms, apartments, and they were really spot on.” 

When asked what’s the ultimate takeaway, Downey said, “Through experience, through training you always get stronger … This type of thing, as tragic as they are, they make us stronger for the next time.”

Flying Drone Near Airport? Here’s What To Know

Flying Drone Near Airport? Here’s What To Know: Chicago Executive Airport has warned drone owners on the dangers of flying too close to the airport. “We are one of the busiest airports… we operate three runways and have seen multiple unauthorized drones in the airport,” Chicago Executive Airport Operations and Maintenance Supervisor Andrew Wolanik said. Chicago Executive, a facility owned and operated jointly

‘It’s Not Afghanistan’: Ukrainian Pilots Push Back on U.S.-Provided Drones

 Ukrainian military officials are enmeshed in a hotly contested debate over whether U.S.-provided Gray Eagle strike drones can be effective against increasingly resilient Russian air defenses, while the Biden administration considers providing Kyiv with the systems that became ubiquitous in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The risk of operating drones in Ukraine, which saw cheap strike drones like the Turkish Bayraktar have significant impact against the Russian military in the first days of the war, has increased as the fight has moved east to the Donbas region, which abuts Russia’s Western Military District and larger clusters of advanced air defense systems, such as S-300 and S-400 missile batteries.

But there is a split between front-line airmen and Ukraine’s chief of staff on the drones, according to multiple Ukrainian military officials, who recently spoke to Foreign Policy and other media outlets on condition of anonymity, identified only by their military call signs. Read More

How Cal Fire Uses Drones To Fight Wildfires

 Cal fire is using new drone technology to fight wildfires. Giving them a bigger picture of wildfires so they know how to best put them out. 

It's already a busy season for firefighters with wildfires sparking up more often. The drones Cal Fire uses give firefighters more resources.

"They're able to give us any type of heat source, or if there's an evacuation being put in place, or we have trapped people, they can identify those people and actually know where they're at on the incident," said Captain Richard Cordova with Cal Fire Riverside.  Read More.

Stop calling Switchblades ‘drones’ — it’s causing policy confusion

Words matter, especially when it comes to understanding and overseeing new military technologies. That is why it is especially important to be deliberate and precise in how we talk about a new class of aerial munitions, like the Switchblade loitering munition, which many, including government leaders, are inaccurately referring to as unmanned aerial vehicles. Read more