Disaster Response

16 February 2020 | Disaster Response, Specialized FAA Waivers

CHULA VISTA —  Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy told a story recently about how officers avoided tragedy while responding to a 911 call about a man waving a small gun around in front of a taco shop on Broadway.The first thing the department did was send a drone. It arrived in less than a minute and before any patrol vehicles got to the scene.

20 April 2019 | Disaster Response

Technology is changing around us every day, and the drone industry is no exception. We have been shouting from the rooftops since 2014 about how UAS technology could improve safety for fire fighters and police officers, but in the wake of a catastrophic fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, some people are dreaming MUCH bigger than a single drone with a single camera.

17 April 2019 | Disaster Response, Public Safety

Having been involved with the Chula Vista Police drone program since very early on, we have been eagerly waiting to see the results of their “drone as a first responder” program. This is where the drone — not a police officer - is first on scene, and can begin feeding pictures back to responding officers before they even get there. This is one of the best examples of how a drone being on scene so quickly - in many cases just 2 minutes after the 911 call - can give officers a true picture of what’s happening before they arrive.

16 April 2019 | Disaster Response

It is never easy to watch raging fires take place in such iconic locations, but if there was any saving grace to this one, is that firefighters had drones quick at hand to help get immediate, and actionable intelligence. This is what it’s all about — getting perspective on an incident in new ways that help responders gain control more quickly and more safely.