The Tool That Changed Search and Rescue Forever

One evening last August, the sky burned crimson as flames spread across the green canopy of Dartford Heath. This was not just a wildfire, but the fifth one of the month. The wail of sirens swiftly approached, flashing red and blue lights barely smudges of light through the thick smog. At the rate it was spreading, the team either needed a miracle or exceptional, pin-point accurate situational awareness. But that's impossible, right?

With clocks ticking, how do you build a strategy and predict the path of a fire all while keeping the whole team safe.

With resources stretched thin, volunteers from Kent Search and Rescue Drone team deployed the DJI Matrice 30 thermal drone to support the fire and rescue team. Aerial footage of the fire informed them of the ten-hectare land fire which was tearing towards a block of houses nearby.

Entirely built upon volunteer work, Kent Search and Rescue are experienced specialists in high risk and vulnerable missing person search and rescue missions. Three years ago, commercial drone experts, COPTRZ had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Gore, drone leader at the charity, a dynamic individual who had quite the interest in adopting new aircraft.

Stephen expressed, "When someone goes missing it becomes a time critical event, so anything that we can do to reduce search time or improve efficiency is worth looking into. As a team we are constantly looking at emerging technologies and how they might integrate into the work we do."

COPTRZ recommended the popular Matrice 30T which has become a valuable asset to the team. Stephen explains that "We have had our current M30T since August 2022, and whilst we have tried various drones since our first Phantom 3, the M30T is by far the best drone we have had. It strikes a good balance between flight time, ease of deployment, and image quality with the ability to fly in most weather and environmental conditions on a reliable platform."

As the fire continued to roar across the heath, a mosaic of smoke covered the landscape for miles. With no ground visibility, communication was impaired, and teams were unable to describe their location accurately.

In under a minute, Kent Search and Rescue launched the Matrice 30T into the smoke. Stephen explains how the drone offered the situational awareness they needed to begin tackling the fire.

"We integrated the RMTP feed from the DJI drones into SarSYS, our Incident Search Management software. Not only does this provide the Incident Commander in the control vehicle a live stream video feed of from both the RGB and thermal cameras, but it also allows a video feed straight to the mobile phones of the team members deployed on the search."

Although there is no visibility to the naked eye, the infrared camera can detect heat signatures, allowing first-responders to see through smoke-filled environments. With this clarity, Kent Search and Rescue monitored the location, size, and direction of the fire, and led the fire and rescue team. Thermal imagery also revealed hotspots within the fire where firefighters at Kent Fire and Rescue could focus their efforts to tackle the fire.

Kent Search and Rescue have been using drones since 2016 for countless time-sensitive rescue missions. Stephen emphasises that drones have had a huge benefit for them when searching open, rural areas. With the ability to cover vast areas in minutes, drones have changed the game. With the Matrice 30T, operators can detect the heat signature of a missing person, lighting them up on the visual map. This colourful beacon can be seen even when filtered through thick tree coverage and vegetation. Before drones, search and rescue operations could take several hours, if not days, by foot.

Supplying real-time information about the exact nature of the search environment, drone footage also enables a better allocation of the correct search resources. Operating around dangerous terrains like steep slopes, open water, and muddy tidal flats pose as a risk to the team. A new aerial perspective from drone technology allows the team to unlock a new level of situational awareness to approach these dangerous environments in a safe and effective manner.

The charity commended the help they received from COPTRZ, from receiving a detailed demonstration of the kit to the expertise and depth of knowledge we provide as experts in the field. In emergency situations, every second matters and integrating powerful equipment like drone technology can be that difference.

COPTRZ have helped over 1000 businesses to access the benefits of drone technology, providing cheaper, faster and safer operational capability.

Get in touch now at:

Phone: 0808 588 0526

Enquiries: sales@coptrz.com

Customer Services: services@coptrz.com