Every day, drones are used to make people’s lives easier. They have a number of applications across dozens of industries, and are used to make tasks more time efficient, financially efficient, and in some cases, to save lives. Drone’s have the capability to change how we work for the better. To put it simply - drones are tools, not toys.
In February of 2019, the Metro Fire team in Sacramento, California rescued several passengers who had gotten stuck in a partially submerged vehicle after heavy rain caused the flooding of a local river.
When authorities arrived on the scene, a drone was used to assess the situation of the stranded citizens. Using the zoom camera and the thermal sensor, the drone pilot was able to determine that nobody was missing from the scene, and that the stranded individuals were not in immediate threat of injury. Once this was determined, rescue personnel used the drone to transport life preservers to the passengers in the vehicle, as well as scout out the situation and map out a path for the boat crews to take to reach the car.
All passengers from the partially submerged vehicle were rescued by emergency personnel, unharmed during the process.
The Sacramento Fire Department had begun experimenting with drones during the summer of 2018, trying to determine the applications and benefits of starting a drone program. Between the summer of 2018 and February of 2019, their department purchased and began regularly deploying 14 different drones for public safety purposes. According to the Sacramento Metro Fire Department, drones are a technology that is essential to saving lives in their county.
(Source) Firefighters Rescuing Stranded Drivers With Drones – CBS Sacramento (cbslocal.com)