San Rafael fire officials describe drones and emerging detection tech used to locate small, hard‑to‑see fires

San Rafael fire officials described multiple recent incidents in which department drones provided near‑real‑time overhead images to incident commanders, allowing crews to locate fires not visible from the street and direct resources faster.

Officials said a department drone nicknamed "Big Mac" was launched within minutes and provided overhead imagery during a structure fire on Woodland Avenue and a mid‑slope brush fire above Boyd Park. The department credited the drone with quickly identifying the correct location when the initial address reported to dispatch was incorrect and with giving incident commanders an overhead view when fires were difficult to see from the road.

Commission members and staff also discussed a BBC segment about new small, networked smoke sensors and an AI‑enabled camera mounted to aircraft that can detect smoke signatures and pinpoint a fire's location within minutes. Commissioners noted these technologies are being used in Canada and parts of California and said the detection devices can triangulate smoke and feed locations to dispatch systems.

The department said it plans to expand drone capability with a smaller, more maneuverable vehicle (referred to in the meeting as a "little Mac") to operate where the larger drone cannot, and that the Fire Foundation has funded elements of the current drone program.

Why this matters: rapid aerial observation and faster detection can improve firefighter situational awareness and speed responses to remote or mid‑slope fires. Commissioners discussed pursuing information about costs and potential partnerships for detection sensors and agreed to share the BBC reference and vendor details with staff for follow up.