High-flying drones could offer emergency responders a valuable birds-eye-view during rescue operations, but they're no substitute for humans on the ground, a fire and rescue manager says.
Group manager Steve McLinden of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service says drones would make a useful addition to human rescue teams, based on the results of a recent demonstration that McLinden and other emergency response managers recently attended in Copenhagen, Denmark.
"It was a really, really positive experience for us," McLinden told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.
McLinden said he was impressed by drones’ potential to relay valuable information to rescue teams, such as the spread of a wildfire or the location of a missing person. "The aerial platforms can enhance and give our crews an advantage which we've never had," he said.
McLinden said he was "wowed" by a demonstration involving a thermal imaging camera, in which a drone quickly found a person hiding in a 100,000 square-metre area at night. "They actually found him within two minutes for a search that could've taken us hours," McLinden said.
However, he insists there is no substitute for a quick-thinking human mind in a rescue operation.
"It's a great tool," McLinden said of the drone, "but it would never replace a firefighter."
