When the Ridgeland Fire Department arrives on the scene at a fire at a large house or commercial building, it will soon be able to send up a drone to determine how to proceed.
“The drone will be in the sky above the fire and the camera on it will show where the hotspots are,” said Todd Wilbourn, fire inspector for the Ridgeland Fire Department. “The drone has thermal capabilities.”
Last fall, the Ridgeland Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of the drone and a case with a 32-inch monitor screen on which the drone’s action can be viewed. The cost was about $16,000, Wilbourn said.
Flying a drone requires special training as well as getting used to using it so deploying it whether in response to emergencies or to take photos of rooftops becomes second nature.
Wilbourn expects to receive his license from the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of the month to operate the drone.
The Ridgeland Fire Department also plans to use its drone for search and rescue operations because it can cover a large territory, for assessments of rooftops as part of building inspections and after disasters such as tornado to assess damage, he said.
The Ridgeland Police Department replaced its older drone with one like the Ridgeland Fire Department has, Wilbourn said.
More than 5,000 public safety agencies, including the Ridgeland PD and the Madison Police Department, have established drone programs, and an estimated two-thirds are law enforcement agencies, according to Droneresponders.org.
