Wildland Fire Recon

[rvrrat14]

Just finished a small (15ac) wildland fire. Had departments P3A on location. Was called out pretty quick and was my first live fire incident. Have been flying training missions for department.

Arrived on scene and set up on hill top. Fire was beside large transmission towers/lines. Mucho interference. Had to move a bit to be able to lock on to sats and aircraft/rc. Location was back in the sticks and lightning caused fire.

Very windy afternoon and I flew the upwind side, down the fire line toward the head, and an overshot of the whole fire. Monitored dozer/fire line work. Filmed every part of flight. Wind kept smoke low to the ground. Had two different chiefs by my side at times to see the scene and size it up. They were very impressed and appreciative! Was able to provide them total acreage afterwards. We are just entering our season now, so who knows how many fires I’ll see this summer/fall. As one chief put it, “Having an eye in the sky perspective of the fire is invaluable.”

 

[BigAl07]

Well done

 

[Advexure]

As one chief put it, “Having an eye in the sky perspective of the fire is invaluable.”

Can't agree more and we love hearing this when the chief, captain, head honcho comes by when we are in the field with fire service and public safety whether it be on a live mission, training, or even demoing with other agencies.

Thanks for sharing the positive experience and good to see a P3A still hanging in there!

 

[rvrrat14]

Can't agree more and we love hearing this when the chief, captain, head honcho comes by when we are in the field with fire service and public safety whether it be on a live mission, training, or even demoing with other agencies.

Thanks for sharing the positive experience and good to see a P3A still hanging in there!

Thanks. I have a P4A and take it as backup. The old P3A seems to work fine for now.

 

[Dave Pitman]

I've talked with 2 fire chiefs in my area and have offered to fly for them for free at any of their training events. They said thanks but looked at me like I was asking them if they spoke manderine chinese and have not taken me up on it. This was over 2 years ago. Apparently, some districts are more progressive than others!

 

[rvrrat14]

I've talked with 2 fire chiefs in my area and have offered to fly for them for free at any of their training events. They said thanks but looked at me like I was asking them if they spoke manderine chinese and have not taken me up on it. This was over 2 years ago. Apparently, some districts are more progressive than others!

I offered same as you. I was also a past Asst Chief. It took several months but they and the PD came back to me. They are hearing about this at the regular training they attend. It’s catching on. After first flight it seemed to sell itself. I noticed they were watching me fly too. They need to reach a comfort zone with the drone and pilot.

 

[BigAl07]

@Dave Pitman you've got to also consider that it could be more about "Liability" and/or
"Public Perception" of the sUAS than the Fire Chief's own personal opinion.

I train Depts for sUAS operations (hands-on and laws/ethics) and we had one Dept bring us on-board for training. We show up the day of the event and the Chief meets me at the door and says, "Thanks for your help but when our 'Board' learned we were going to be doing drone training they got 'Legal' involved. As of this morning they notified me that they are not allowing sUAS operations until legal has time to review the liabilities and modify our insurance etc to make sure we are covered." They paid us 1/2 of our invoice and we didn't do anything but pack & drive LOL. While I love flying while making $$ we went to other jobs that day and made even more money than we had planned

Drones/sUAS are a "Nasty Word" to many organizations and when John Q. Public hears that a Public Safety entity is using them they tend to automatically assume that Law Enforcement is involved and they are planning to use them to SPY and EVADE PRIVACY. It's a shame they see it this way but that's fact of the matter at least for right now.

On the flip side with more and more POSITIVE stories of sUAS saving TIME & LIVES in the news this paradigm is slowly shifting in our favor across the country.

 

[Dave Pitman]

Dave Pitman you've got to also consider that it could be more about "Liability" and/or
"Public Perception" of the sUAS than the Fire Chief's own personal opinion.

Yeah, I understand. Kind of frustrating though. In our area, they are begging for volunteer help. Just not an eye in the sky it seems.

 

[rvrrat14]

@Dave Pitman you've got to also consider that it could be more about "Liability" and/or
"Public Perception" of the sUAS than the Fire Chief's own personal opinion.

I train Depts for sUAS operations (hands-on and laws/ethics) and we had one Dept bring us on-board for training. We show up the day of the event and the Chief meets me at the door and says, "Thanks for your help but when our 'Board' learned we were going to be doing drone training they got 'Legal' involved. As of this morning they notified me that they are not allowing sUAS operations until legal has time to review the liabilities and modify our insurance etc to make sure we are covered." They paid us 1/2 of our invoice and we didn't do anything but pack & drive LOL. While I love flying while making $$ we went to other jobs that day and made even more money than we had planned

Drones/sUAS are a "Nasty Word" to many organizations and when John Q. Public hears that a Public Safety entity is using them they tend to automatically assume that Law Enforcement is involved and they are planning to use them to SPY and EVADE PRIVACY. It's a shame they see it this way but that's fact of the matter at least for right now.

On the flip side with more and more POSITIVE stories of sUAS saving TIME & LIVES in the news this paradigm is slowly shifting in our favor across the country.

You nailed it on the head!

 

[CSFD]

Great success story. This is what UAS can do for the fire service in this initial stages of a wildland fire. I have a separate stand alone 22” monitor for IC and Ops chief which is invaluable for their assessment of the fire.

How did you measure the acreage? Drone deploy? Pix 4D?

How quick did you you get the for under control after IC got your valuable air data?

Strong work bro!!!

 

[mindstorm1]

Just finished a small (15ac) wildland fire. Had departments P3A on location. Was called out pretty quick and was my first live fire incident. Have been flying training missions for department.

Arrived on scene and set up on hill top. Fire was beside large transmission towers/lines. Mucho interference. Had to move a bit to be able to lock on to sats and aircraft/rc. Location was back in the sticks and lightning caused fire.

Very windy afternoon and I flew the upwind side, down the fire line toward the head, and an overshot of the whole fire. Monitored dozer/fire line work. Filmed every part of flight. Wind kept smoke low to the ground. Had two different chiefs by my side at times to see the scene and size it up. They were very impressed and appreciative! Was able to provide them total acreage afterwards. We are just entering our season now, so who knows how many fires I’ll see this summer/fall. As one chief put it, “Having an eye in the sky perspective of the fire is invaluable.”

Great story. No still pics to share?

 

[rvrrat14]

Easiest way to get acreage was after the flight I set up a autonomous mission using GS Pro and compared maps between GS Pro and my flight log. Easy.
Fire was brought under control within 30 - 45 min and a plan was to cut a line around it from what was seen from above. The head of the fire was identified as well as the boundaries to the east. Steep terrain and regrowth from previous burns.

Studying how best to show live feeds. Facebook to secret group is being tested and works pretty good. Other solutions require monitors to be too close for use. Budget $$

All photos/videos remain property of FD. None were posted in the public domain. Sorry.

 

[R.Perry]

It is great to see some departments realize the value of drones. Our state uses spotter aircraft for command and control, but some of the local departments are beginning to see the value of drones.

San Jose CA. PD bought two drones and when the public found out they made such a fuss that the drones now sit in a store room, such a shame.

Now our local sheriff doesn't care what the public thinks about them, he has realized the value. Many homes in our area are very secluded, so the drone is perfect for doing surveillance prior to entering the property. It adds a level of protection for the officers to have eyes in the sky and unlike a helicopter, if done right the drone isn't even noticed.

I think agencies like the DEA, ATF, FBI, Homeland all will be using drones but they aren't going to advertise it.

 

[Bob]

While getting my insurance for my drone (just replacement not liability) the agent said her husband was our volunteer fire department captain. He had bought his son a toy drone and liked the video but it wasn't for outdoor use. She took my number and I am meeting with him next week to talk about filming thier training and possibly more. The station is 100 yards from my house and he has seen my drone flying around he just didnt know the owner. I hope to get to fly for them.

 

[R.Perry]

Good for you Bob, hope it works out for you. I think working with fire or police during their training exercises could be a great way to introduce them to the value of drones and dispel some of the myths associated with them.