OAK RIDGE – Assistant Fire Chief Jody Durham said he saw the value of a drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, last summer during a mutual aid response to a fire at an industry in Clinton.
Clinton attorney Mike Farley put his drone to use then to hover over the building, where smoke was billowing from the roof, and Durham said he could see a live video feed of the scene.
That overhead view determined the smoke was coming from a ventilation stack, and it was safe to put firefighters on the roof. “It made a believer out of me,” Durham said of the drone’s potential.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department is wading through the complex application to file with the Federal Aviation Administration to authorize the department’s use of a drone, Chief Darryl Kerley said.
The Oak Ridge department, Durham said, would likely become the first department in the area to train firefighters in using drones.
Along with bird’s-eye views of rooftops of burning buildings, a drone would come in handy in instances where dangerous materials have spilled or been released, and it’s unsafe for people to get near, Durham said.
Kerley said he’s been appointed to the unmanned aerial vehicle task force of the International Association of Fire Chiefs to work with the FAA on regulations for emergency responders to use drones.
He said the Oak Ridge Fire Department has purchased a $700 drone and he plans to have about 12 firefighters trained as drone pilots and spotters to ensure their safe use.
The drone was used last year at the Secret City Festival to develop an evacuation plan for large crowds during concerts, Kerley said.
“We’ve been doing a little experimenting with it,” he said of the drone.
