In an effort to help members of its department fight fires, the Syracuse Fire Department has launched a new UAS program.

According to Fire Capt. Timothy Gleeson, the department expects to use the technology for stubborn fires or on fires in large commercial buildings.

Thanks to the drones' thermal imaging capabilities, firefighters will be able to see hotspots in stubborn fires and identify spots where roofs or parts of buildings could collapse, notes Syracuse Fire Chief Michael Monds.

“We're aggressive. ... This is a really different type of concept,” Monds says via Syracuse.com. “To step back and get a good picture.”

Unfortunately, the department doesn’t have any plans at the moment to use thermal imaging to find people trapped in a fire, being that imaging technology is not that advanced as of yet, Gleeson says.

After looking into a UAS starting in June 2017, the Syracuse Fire Department applied for approval from the FAA in early April 2018, and the program was approved during the first week of June 2018. The program reportedly cost the department close to $20,000 to start, but Monds expects the cost to maintain the program to drop. 

The department’s UAS team has three team leaders. Before the department could get approval to use the technology, the team leaders had to take a 40-hour training class.

Over the course of a week in June, ten team operators took a 32-hour course. Eight of the operators work for the fire department, while the other two operators work for other departments with the city, Gleeson says.

Gleeson says that during the department’s research, they looked into how the UAS’ capabilities could be applied by an “urban” fire department.

Monds is optimistic about the potential benefits that the technology can offer.

“I think it's going to be a good thing,” Monds says. “We just have to take some time and see how it goes.”