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 Â鶹´«Ã½ 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."
