Drones are making the way fires are fought safer for those risking their lives to put the blazes out.
Three weeks ago, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) attended Cleanaway Liquid Waste Services on Christie Street in St Marys after a major fire broke out.
Over 100 firefighters in 20 fire trucks successfully contained the blaze after hours of work.
To help with the firefighting efforts FRNSW deployed a fleet of specialised drones to assist firefighters with operational awareness, safety and runoff containment.
Russell Turner is the Team leader of Aviation for FRNSW and explained how the drones were used to contain the St Marys fire.
“What we did was deploy five drones quickly across the whole fire ground,” he said.
“Three of those drones were providing livestreams straight back to the command point so that we could make sure our water was being put in the right spot at the right time and reduce the runoff.
“Another drone was providing footage from inside the building, we flew inside the building after the crews had withdrawn and we were able to record footage that could be used to make sure that the fire hadn’t spread, and that the situation wasn’t getting worse.
“In fact, half an hour later we flew again, which proved that the situation had improved and then the Commanders were able to deploy firefighters inside the building.”
The use of drones is still a relatively new process in firefighting, but it has made major improvements in safely fighting fires.
“This capability is still in its infancy. We have deployed a number of times but this was by far our most technical mission so far,” Turner said.
“FRNSW is really leading the country and indeed most of the world in this sort of technology in our drone program. We have more than 120 drones across the state.”
In some cases, the drones replace the need to send firefighters into unknown conditions.
“Historically in firefighting, we would surround and drown, we would… shoot the fire with jets, sometimes when you are firing the water through the smoke, you can’t actually accurately see where that water’s going and if it is having good effect,” Turner said.
“By using the drones… we can actually stand beside the operator and give live feedback, and they can instantly move their hose streams.”
The drones used inside buildings operate using first person view and all other drones are operated by having a visual line of sight.
Other drones have the capacity to carry pay loads and have thermal imaging capabilities.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.