First responders participate in Durham Tech, Public Safety UAS Institute drone class

Agencies explore benefits of using drones in emergency situations

With their compact size and ability to fly without a pilot aboard, drones are becoming more and more widely used.

For public safety agencies, the devices help them uphold their core purpose -- keeping citizens and personnel safe.

“The use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or ‘drones’ for emergency services is becoming more prevalent,” said Dawn Tevepaugh, Durham Tech Police Chef. “They have key benefits such as gathering intelligence, surveillance, and search-and-rescue missions by providing aerial views of areas that officers cannot safely operate in.”

Last semester, Durham Tech co-hosted a five-day, drone-training course with Public Safety UAS Institute. The students included representatives from the Durham Tech Campus Police and Public Safety, Durham Fire Department, and Durham County Sheriff’s Office.

In addition to helping keep personnel safe, drones provide a convenient tool to assist in public safety operations.

“Should we need to find a missing person, a drone can be deployed quickly compared with requesting a helicopter to aid in a search,” said Capt. Will Oakley of the Sheriff’s Office Training Division. “It could increase our chances of finding the person we’re looking for before they are harmed.”

Oakley was among the class’s attendants.

Each agency has its own reason for wanting to implement drones into its operations.

Oakley said the Sheriff’s Office noticed the rising trend of their counterparts in other areas using the devices and thought their office should explore the option as well.

For the Fire Department, the reason came back to safety.

“This was a concept to help entry teams gain information and do a haz-risk assessment before sending personnel down range,” said Donald Gross, Owner of D&C Instructions and Hazmat Coordinator for the City of Durham.

Gross also spearheaded the Fire Department’s drone program.

“Drones would give us the ability to gain information from multiple perspectives. We hopefully will deploy them at collapse rescue, water rescue, and structure fires,” he said.

The Fire Department has yet to use their drones, due to needing further licensing and certification. The Durham Tech Campus Police and Public Safety and Durham County Sheriff’s Office have not currently implemented drones into their operations.

Durham Tech is planning to offer the drone class again this year.

“I have a public safety background, so I started this program because I saw the potential for how having a set of eyes in the sky could assist public safety personnel in saving time, money, and lives as well as reduce the risk involved,” said Ralph Newcomb, Owner and Instructor of the Public Safety UAS Institute. “Across the board, no matter what type of agency, the advantages are the same.”