Firefighting
missions could greatly benefit from the application of UAS technology. However, there have only been initial test
cases and experiments in employing unmanned aircraft in these roles. Examples will demonstrate the utility and
benefits UAS can bring to this important field.
However, there are challenges that must be addressed before widespread
operations can take place.
UAS platforms provide reconnaissance and observation
capabilities that are force multipliers for firefighting agencies. Initial tests and experiments have been
conducted with UAS such as Aero System’s Bluebird, Insitu’s Scan Eagle, and
Elimco’s E300. The ability to observe an
emergency scene from altitude provides a greater field of view than would be
available to personnel on the ground or from an elevation. Limited visibility due to terrain, structure,
or smoke frequently and significantly hampers firefighters’ abilities to
control fires and conduct search and rescue operations for victims. An unmanned aircraft employing an advanced
sensor suite, such as infrared imaging capability, would aid in seeing through
smoke. The sensor would also aid in detecting
victims requiring rescue. In a region
such as a forest or national park, the UAS may also be deployed in conditions and
specific airspaces considered too hazardous for a manned aircraft. These capabilities would greatly improve
firefighting personnel’s missions by mitigating the obstacles to their
operations.
There are challenges that must be considered along with
the benefits UAS technology brings to firefighting operations. As vital as firefighters are to public
safety, these agencies must operate on a budget. Recent trends have seen reductions to
firefighting agencies’ budgets. As such,
a cost-benefit analysis must be considered when acquiring a UAS to support
firefighting operations. The initial
expense of introducing new technology is always steep due to the economics of
initial, low-rate production and the cost of the research and development to
advance a system to an operational level and production. A firefighting agency must consider the types
and frequency of operations it undertakes and correlate it to a specific UAS’
capabilities to justify the expense and effort to acquire and integrate the
system.
There are also legal challenges that must be considered
with a firefighting UAS system. In
particular with urban operations, a UAS with an advanced sensor suite is
capable of detecting objects in detail through obscurations with the additional
advantage of a position of observation aloft.
Privacy concern will most likely arise from the public regarding the
UAS. As the UAS will be a firefighting
system and not a law enforcement system, the public will need reassurance that
the UAS will not be used outside of its intended scope. With regard to operations over areas such as
national forests and parks, there will be concern with the UAS’ impact on
wildlife. A concern would be collisions
between the unmanned aircraft and airborne wildfire, particularly if endangered
species are involved. The threat of a
wildfire would most likely exceed the danger presented by a UAS. However, environmental regulatory agencies
would still most likely require an operations plan designed to mitigate the
risk to wildlife posed by the firefighting UAS.
References:
Aero Systems Bluebird –
Firefighting. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.bluebird-uav.com/Fire-fighting.html
Elimco E300 UAV. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.elimco.com/eng/p_UAV-E300_24.html
Evans, C. (2013, June 15). Federal
Firefighters Feel the Burn of Budget Cuts.
Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-firefighters-feel-the-burn-of-budget-cuts/
Paur, J. (2009).
UAV in a Firefight of a Different
Kind. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/08/firefighting-uav/
