Fire district acquires drone

Thanks in part to a private donation of $5,000, the Point Roberts fire district now has a $15,000 drone that will help the district in multiple ways, according to fire chief Christorpher Carleton, speaking to the fire commission on November 13.

The DJI drone comes equipped with advanced sensors such as:

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor (donated): For navigation, obstacle avoidance, and flying under canopies.

Thermal Imaging and Night Vision for detecting heat signatures and conducting searches in low light or total darkness.

Imaging & AI: The drone includes advanced zoom capabilities, enabling identification of fine details from afar (e.g., reading the registration on a boat from 350 feet). Its AI software can automatically search for human forms or heat signatures, vastly accelerating coverage—searching an acre of open area each minute and quickly pinpointing individuals in challenging conditions.

Live Streaming & Control: It streams live video and data to a large monitoring screen indoors, allowing the operations team to coordinate and respond in real time. The controller is sophisticated and can HDMI directly to a central display.

Weather & Durability: The system is weather-rated for operations in rain and challenging conditions.

Safety: FAA compliance and piloting expertise within the team ensures safe, effective operation in critical situations.

Role in Search and Rescue
(SAR) Operations

Rapid Area Coverage: The drone can autonomously fly programmed search patterns (waypoints), quickly ruling out large open areas and reducing the amount of time and manpower needed for surface searches.

Integrated Searching: By focusing its searches on open areas and using sophisticated sensors for partial visibility, the drone frees up human searchers for ground-based, wooded, or obstructed locations – making collective efforts much more efficient.

Real-World Use: During demonstrations and active SAR operations, the drone has proven its capability by finding test subjects (such as a person lying in the rain at night) in minutes. In actual community cases, it has helped coordinate multi-day, multi-team search efforts, alongside other drones, ground searchers, and even helicopters.

Community Engagement: The fire district plans public demonstrations and presentations, highlighting its commitment to transparency and ensuring the community understands the drone’s critical role.

Limitations: While highly effective in open and partially obstructed areas, the drone cannot “see” through solid canopies or structures – thus, full search coverage still requires coordination between the drone team and ground-based personnel.

Overall, the new drone gives the agency one of the most advanced airborne SAR assets in the region, boosting readiness for lost person incidents and other community needs.