Anonymous donor gives Danbury fire department $9K for a drone

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DANBURY - An anonymous donor has offered the city fire department $9,000 to purchase an unmanned aerial surveillance vehicle known as a drone, a department official said.

“Drones have a myriad of uses in the fire service with the ability to provide situational awareness such as live aerial feed of fires or large-scale incidents, pre-planning information, and to search for lost persons in rugged terrain,” Fire Chief T.J. Wiedl wrote to the City Council.

The City Council was expected to accept the donation at its Tuesday night meeting.

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Anonymous-donor-gives-Danbury-fire-department-9K-6801602.php

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I'm glad to see Danbury getting a drone. They really have progressive leadership that will take them to the next level in the near future (and I hope that one day that includes a second truck company).

I love the promise of drones, I think they are a great asset to help make critical decisions, and I'm interested in the protocols. Who would carry the drone? Who would be trained and assigned to use it on the fireground? Is there a specific model that's best for firefighting and rescue use?