A Drone By Firefighters For Firefighters

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

NMOTION UAS, a Kansas, US based company is aiming to make firefighter’s jobs much safer by bringing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology into the fray.

John Martens, NMOTION UAS founder, observed the immense benefits to safety UAVs provide on the battlefield and in other dangerous situations and recognised their potential to assist fire and police departments.

“First responders have a very dangerous job and are put into places everyone else is getting out of. We saw an enormous potential we’d never seen before; being able to deploy a tool, instead of a person, to gain much of the same information, without risking anyone whatsoever,” said Martens.

The company’s work is already being recognised as having immense potential. Tammy Snow, fire chief for Wichita, Kansas – a town that sits in an area known as Tornado Alley -, says that “for example, during a tornado, it would help us identify the perimeters and what areas were actually affected.”

Martens, himself a former firefighter, insists that his UAVs are serious business. “This is a life-saving tool that can be used very quickly to gain rapid situational awareness and safety,” said Martens.

The drone’s battery gives enough power for a half hour of uninterrupted flight time. The UAV is also equipped with an infrared camera.

“It would also give us help in finding victims on the inside especially in large commercial buildings that are pretty hard for us. It’s very time consuming, a lot of manpower to actually go through those and search,” said Snow.

NMOTION UAS provides training for future operators, as well as assists departments in getting the appropriate permits and waivers to fly the UAVs from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“The public, they don’t understand what goes into an unmanned aircraft and if you’re not qualified or educated, you’re creating a risk for people below you,” said Snow.