The Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District (LRFPD) in Springfield Missouri have obtained a new tool- drones, which are expected to enhance the fire crews ability to respond to emergencies significantly.
The LRFPD has been working for several years to get a drone program up and running.
Firefighters told local news station KY3 that the biggest issue in getting the drones up and running was the price tag.
Assistant Chief Grant Peters shared: “A couple of years ago, we started to budget and plan, to lay out a process of what this program looks like, who’s going to run it and where the funding is going to come from.
“We were able to write a couple of grants and we’ve received a few grants from a couple of agencies that were kind enough to support us in this program.
“That’s really what helped us jumpstart this program and get it up and going, really.”
According to Peters, the drone with all its attachments costs between $32,000 and $33,000. As for attachments, it has a specialized camera with a 200x zoom.
It has night vision, a radar, a spotlight, a range finder, and a drop attachment, which could be used to drop a flotation device to a stranded swimmer. And the drone has already been used in a water rescue within the last couple of weeks.
Peters continued: “The drone was actually deployed for the first search and rescue mission on the Findley River for a kayaker that had been missing.
“Ozark Fire actually requested the drone and we were able to come down and fly and within a few minutes, actually locate the kayaker traveling back upriver.”
Captain Chris Wescoat who is one of the five firefighters who went through the drone certification process added: “We end up getting hammered with water rescue calls.
“Being able to deploy this, being able to mitigate incidents that much more quickly, find lost people trapped in their cars, or lost downriver, the quicker we can get that done and accomplished is better for the patient.”
Once the district got the drone, the would-be pilots had to go through training. Wescoat and Peters both said it was a lot of classwork, which was done online. There were lectures, as well as written tests.
Wescoat continued: “We all went through it, took all the classes, took the online classes and then, for me, I took several practice tests to get myself prepared. And then there’s a testing center in Springfield that provides the FAA test for us.”
All five of them are licensed under FAA Part 107, which Peters said is the same type of certification that anyone who wants to use a drone commercially must obtain.
Part of their training involved learning about manned aircraft. They had to know much of the language that pilots use. They even had to learn about runways.
Wescoat discussed: “Stuff that I had no idea I was going to have to know.
“Even which directions runways are running. So the knowledge that we have to have just so we can fly safely in the event that a manned aircraft is in the area while we’re flying our drone, they always take priority.”
According to Peters, they’ll be able to use the drone for water rescues, which inevitably happen in the Ozarks. However, they’ll be able to use it in response to fires and even large events, such as concerts.
It’s a piece of technology, he believes, that will ultimately be an impactful tool they can use for good.
Peters concluded: “It’s a new piece of technology, especially in the fire service.
“It’s becoming a bigger piece. But having it just for responder safety and for search and rescue efforts, to locate without putting more people in the water or just in that environment.”
The Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District in Springfield Missouri have obtained a new tool- drones, which are expected to enhance the fire crews ability to respond to emergencies significantly.
