When a fire breaks out at an industrial location, first responders need information fast: What chemicals are on site, and are they explosive? How close is the fire to those chemicals? Last week, hundreds of people were evacuated from the area surrounding the pink granite Stone Creek Quarry in Connecticut when old blast mats–heavy rubber sheets placed over holes to contain explosions–caught fire. Emergency workers were concerned that the fire was getting close to a storage unit containing dynamite or other blasting explosives, a scenario that would make it too dangerous for firefighters to go in.
So one volunteer firefighter sent in his personal drone, a DJI Phantom. They were able to see that the fire was far from the explosives, and they safely went in to put the fire out. The small quadcopter streamed video back to the pilot’s smartphone. The drone is expensive from a toy perspective, but at $1,200, it’s a cheap alternative to helicopter flights.
via Popular Science
