THE USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS, OR DRONES, FOR PUBLIC SAFETY CONTINUES TO EXPAND, AS DOES THEIR USEFULNESS IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. BY PROVIDING RESPONDERS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE AND MAPPING CAPABILITIES, DRONES HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED PUBLIC SAFETY OPERATIONS IN WAYS THAT WERE NEVER POSSIBLE BEFORE.

ENGINEER REESE WITH PRESCOTT FIRE IS THE DEPARTMENT EXPERT ON THE USE OF DRONES. REESE WORKS JOINTLY WITH THE PRESCOTT POLICE DEPARTMENT AND CAN ASSIST THEM WITH OPERATIONS SUCH AS TRAFFIC CRASH RECONSTRUCTION, RECONNAISSANCE BEFORE TACTICAL DEPLOYMENTS, SWAT OVERWATCH, HOSTAGE SITUATIONS, AND SEARCHES FOR LOST PERSONS.

DRONES ARE USED IN FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS FOR INSERTION INTO EMERGENT OR ONGOING EVENTS THAT POSE A RISK TO PUBLIC SAFETY OR THREATS TO CITY INFRASTRUCTURE. DRONES PROVIDE REAL TIME HAZARD ASSESSMENT UTILIZING HIGH RESOLUTION CAMERAS AND INFRARED/THERMAL SENSORS COUPLED WITH THE 

UNIQUE AERIAL PERSPECTIVE. THIS POINT-OF-VIEW CAN GIVE AN INCIDENT COMMANDER A BETTER PERSPECTIVE AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TO THE CHALLENGES OF A GIVEN INCIDENT.

DRONES MAY BE DEPLOYED AT STRUCTURE FIRES, SEARCH AND RESCUE SITUATIONS, DURING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL OPERATIONS, WILDLAND FIRE OPERATIONS, AND NON-EMERGENT EVENTS SUCH AS FIRE INVESTIGATIONS.

THE EVER-EXPANDING USE OF DRONES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY IS PROVING TO BE A VITAL TOOL FOR RESPONDERS.