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Kern County expands drone program to give firefighters a bird’s-eye view
Summary
Kern County says upgraded drones with thermal imaging and 360-degree views are improving incident commanders’ situational awareness; county officials cited their use during a Jan. 27 multivehicle crash on Highway 58.
Kern County has expanded its unmanned aerial systems for firefighting, adding drones equipped with thermal imaging, enhanced zoom and 360-degree visibility to support safer emergency response.
An unidentified Kern County Fire Department member described how the aircraft aided a multivehicle pileup on Highway 58 on Jan. 27. “When I pulled up, I was able to assist the incident command, get a bird's eye view of the entirety from start to finish of that car accident, able to see our resources on scene, able to see potential patients,” the speaker said, adding the footage helped ensure responders were directing people toward triage and treatment.
The program’s upgrades are intended to improve situational awareness in low-visibility conditions, such as fog, and to help incident commanders make faster operational decisions. The segment listed the new features as thermal imaging, enhanced zoom and three-hundred-and-sixty-degree visibility.
The department representative also thanked Supervisor Parlier for supporting acquisition of the equipment and said the tools ‘‘can really elevate our department’’ and that ‘‘the sky's the limit for us with these.’’
There was no discussion in the episode of new policies, procurement costs or formal authorization votes; the segment presented the expansion as an operational enhancement the department is using in field responses.
The episode did not provide a detailed equipment list, vendor names or budget figures; those details were not specified.
