LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of Louisville hopes to launch new technology to get first responders to emergency scenes faster.
The drones would be launched remotely from firehouses and sent ahead to scenes requiring first responders, giving police, fire and EMS a birds-eye view before they even arrive.
When a 911 call comes into MetroSafe, every minute matters. Soon, dispatchers could have access to a new tool to get information about emergencies faster than ever before.
"As soon as you get that call, those things are going to be in the air and responding," said Louisville Metro Emergency Services Executive Director Jody Meiman.
As Louisville Fire Capt. Donovan Sims explains, the plan is to make the drones the actual first responders.
"What it's going to do is it's going to be able to give us a wide angle view of what we're responding to," Sims said.
Meiman said the drones will respond to all types of emergencies, whether it's a fire or hazardous materials incident, a missing person, or a medical incident that's on a highway.
Several agencies in the Louisville area already use drones, but they are piloted by people on the ground already at the scene. They're used in a variety of situations, ranging from fires to police chases. Under the new program, Meiman said drones would be flown by tactical flight operators working inside MetroSafe.
"We're going to develop a center, so to speak, within the 911 center where there will be pilots hopefully 24 hours a day," he said.
As first responders gear up and head out to a call, the drone will already be on its way. Crews heading to the scene will even be able to watch a live feed showing them what to expect so they can plan ahead.
"We're going to know what the structure looks like, do we have exposures, do we have people exiting the structure, or did someone go back in going to look for another loved one, and we're going to be able to see all that," Sims said.
The goal is to dock drones at eight firehouses around the city, and hire five pilots to start.
Emergency Services asked for a little over $1 million ($1,025,000) in the city budget to get the Drone as First Responder program off the ground in its first year.
That money includes $50,000 per site for hardware (drone and dock) and software for year one; 5 tactical flight operators (TFOs); building a new space (remote operations center) for the TFOs at MetroSafe to work around the clock.
There's also major potential to grow the program and add more sites if the Metro Council signs off.
"After the first couple years, if approved, we would be one of the largest to this extent in the United States," Meiman said.
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