PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – First responders across Hampton Roads are using drones to help them be more efficient.
10 On Your Side spoke with fire and police departments across the seven cities about how they use drones as a second set of eyes in emergency situations.
“Back in the day, drones were actually considered a high tech luxury,” said Suffolk Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Steven Johnson. “Today, it’s a necessity, it’s another tool in the toolbox.”
Johnson said Suffolk Fire & Rescue has several drones they use, including a $125,000 Areyon drone they’ve had since 2012.
Johnson said it can fly at night and in winds up to 45 mph, but most importantly, it gives fire fighters a perspective from the sky.
“Sometimes [from ground level], you can’t see those parts of the building that could potentially be failing,” Johnson said. “So a bird’s eye view will help the incident commander for notifying crews to get out before there is a collapse.”
Meanwhile, if you go beneath the surface in Chesapeake, you might find the fire department’s remote operated vehicle, or underwater drone.
Lt. William Helms said it gives divers a better idea what conditions look like ahead of time, and they also use it to find what they are searching for before going in.
“If we find it, we identify and we relay that information to our police department dive team for them to go out and do the recovery of the device that they so choose to do,” Helms said.
Officer Keegan Young is one of the divers with the police department.
“Being able to use something like that and extend our operations and achieve more than we would have previously without it definitely opens the door to a lot more possibilities,” Young said.
Over in Virginia Beach, a new set of eyes is headed to the skies above the Oceanfront.
That’s because City Council recently awarded the Police Department $1.3 million to go towards implementing its Drone as a First Responder Pilot Program in June.
“With this operating out of our Real Time Crime Center, the ability to communicate that out to the officer in the field to let them know, here’s other pieces for consideration, that’s what can allow them to respond more efficiently,” said Brandon Kyle, a police services manager with the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Kyle told 10 On Your Side the drones will be operated remotely.
The program is in its early stages, but they hope to have it up and running by this time next year. It will allow them to scope out situations on the Oceanfront before officers arrive.
“The officer has a certain perspective when it comes to when they’re out there, they’re responding to the scene, and it’s traditionally what’s right in front of them, right,” Kyle said, “whereas the drone will have the ability to respond out and be able to see a full picture.”
Each department emphasizes how advancements in technology are helping them continue to respond to their communities more efficiently.
“We try to keep up with the times, the technology, because that just provides better customer service for the citizens and their needs,” Johnson said.
The Norfolk Police Department, Newport News Police Department, Hampton Police Department and Virginia Beach Fire Department all have similar drone programs.