OKC Fire Department Adds New Drones To Help Battle Blazes, Locate Victims

The Oklahoma City Fire Department has a new type of drone to help fight blazes and save lives.

OKCFD acquired six new tethered drones with thermal imaging cameras about a month ago. These drones differ from the department's three existing wireless drones in that they are tethered to a base.

This allows any firefighter to operate them without undergoing drone pilot training.

"They don't take away from our staffing, so as soon as we pull on scene, we can throw the base of the drone out there, push a button, and it launches,” Oklahoma City Fire Department assistant public information officer and Capt. Scott Douglas said.

The thermal imaging cameras allow the tethered drones to detect sources of heat through thick smoke and other obstructions.

"This gives us the ability to look at the different parts of the structure and see where the most heat signature is,” Douglas said. “So if one part of the building is hotter than the rest, that gives us a great idea of where the fire is located.”  

Not only can the thermal imaging cameras detect hotspots, they can also detect body heat and help firefighters locate victims who may be trapped in a building or ejected after a wreck.

Douglas said crews used a tethered drone last week during a large blaze near South Robinson Avenue and Southwest 15th Street.

"We pulled up to a commercial fire alarm, and what appeared to be a basic three, 4,000-square-foot structure wound up to be a lot larger than that," said Douglas. “We had limited access around the building, so we launched these tethered drones, and immediately, we got a full aerial view of the incident that was going on."

The tethered drones can fly 150 feet. Operators control its altitude and its camera by using an iPad.

Firefighters will continue using its three wireless drones, as well, which can be very helpful when deployed during grassfires and other widespread blazes.

"We put these drones in the air. We can quickly see what's ahead of the fire, what's around it, and where we need to deploy our firefighters to protect possibly housing addition or any other structures," Douglas said.