Emergency response
from the affected area. This level of situational awareness can then be used to forward plan and predict the fire’s direction of travel to inform the FRS and its evacuation strategies. In urban settings, where buildings are
typically taller, being able to view the fire from the outside of the building on a level plane can provide a more insightful view of the direction of travel of the fire, the building areas affected and, most importantly, help identify people within the property. Using this real time information, fire crews can make decisions based on detailed insight, and deploy resource effectively within a building. Mitigating the risk to emergency responders
is also a key benefit of using UAV technology. For environments where there may be falling debris or other hazards, such as chemicals or gas cannisters, drones can be flown over and around buildings to allow for FRS commanders to assess the situation before committing crew or equipment to specific areas.
Missing persons
LFRS also uses the SkyRanger for search and rescue, using its high definition zoom and thermal imaging camera for missions during the day and night. The technology has been effectively used to locate people in water, quarries and other challenging locations – a mounted camera can zoom in on a face up to
half a mile away and provide a clear image to help identify the person along with surrounding risks such as falling cliff debris. For more rural areas or where a vulnerable person goes missing, the ability to narrow down the search field by using an attached thermal imaging camera to identify a person in a heavily wooded area, or at night, is crucial. Monitoring of this kind helps reduce time intensive and vast search operations by allowing search teams to be deployed more efficiently in the area where the heat source is detected.
Emergency collaboration
The situational awareness and perspective that a drone provides is essential for circumstances that require the successful collaboration of the emergency services and other government or agency organisations. Road traffic accidents are a prominent
example of this, as not only can the drone follow the path of the vehicle to capture vital evidence left at the scene, but it can also be used to identify the risk of further accidents while the road is closed and traffic behind is building up. By providing a holistic view of the
surrounding road networks, authorities can effectively put diversions in place to reduce the risk of further collisions, and the real time feed
FOCUS
www.frmjournal.com MAY 2019
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