Autonomous Drone Helps Tulsa Firefighters Tackle Dangerous Tanker Blaze

Tulsa Fire says it is the first department in the country to deploy a drone to a fire autonomously thanks to a waiver granted by the FAA.

The drone can track smoke from long distances and was able to fly straight toward a large tanker fire at Axel Royal Manufacturing in Tulsa on Tuesday.

Related: Fire At Tulsa Chemical Company Contained After Explosions, Plumes Of Smoke

"So the use the other day on that deployment on that chemical fire was actually our largest deployment to date for the fire department," said Gabe Graveline.

Graveline is a drone specialist with the department and said Tuesday's fire was complicated to navigate. However, with a view from the sky and thermal imaging immediately on the scene, firefighters were able to stay safe and put it out quickly.

"From that perspective, they were able to see that they were dealing with something a little bit more than what we originally realized and that we actually needed to make more space and back up," said Graveline. "We actually found that one of the caps to those tanks landed where one of our apparatus and firefighters had originally parked."

Chief Micheal Baker says Tulsa is leading the way in using this kind of technology.

"It means safety of property in the city, safety of lives in the city; if it's a faster search for us, if it's a faster hazmat spill, we can contain because we can see where it's moving if it's better situational awareness for our firefighters," said Baker.

At least seven drones were able to give the department details of the scene. This is just the beginning of what Baker says is the future of keeping Tulsans safe.