Combating a brush fire near Plaza Bonita several weeks ago, the National City Fire and Police Department called in its Quadcopter to determine the best location to allocate resources in putting out two fires within 100–yards of each other.
The new four-rotared copters had not officially been rolled out to the public for use at the time but during this emergency situation the assistance of the Quadcopter was necessary in stopping the spread of the fire, said National City Police Sgt. Chris Sullivan.
Sullivan credits the Quadcopter for putting out the fires in a timely manner before the fires caused major harm to the public or fire and police personnel on the ground.
Sullivan says it is instances like this in which the Quadcopter will assist public safety personnel.
The National City Police Department officially rolled out the Quadcopters July 12, sticking to its scheduled roll out date, though they were used a work before.
“The whole concept of the program is to utilize the Quadcopters as a tool, a resource in order to save time and to effectively save lives,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the new police tool will be only used for specific situations – mainly in which a helicopter needs to be called out- and not in its everyday policing.
“They’re mission specific, they’re task specific,” he said. “They are not for routine surveillance. Our goal is public safety and privacy rights, that’s the whole concept of the program.”
Sullivan said other than brush fires, other situations in which a Quadcopter may be used include locating a missing person, disaster relief, a bomb threat or any other life-threatening situations where the department needs “eyes in the sky.”
Sullivan said the three Quadcopters that the department purchased at $2,000 each will ultimately save the department money because they would not have to foot the cost of the expense of a helicopter.
Sullivan did not know off-hand how much a San Diego Sherriff’s Department helicopter would cost the department but said the Quadcopters would be a savings in time and money.
However, Sullivan said the use of the Quadcopter will not replace a helicopter as helicopters will remain a valuable tool in providing other services the Quadcopter cannot.
Those manning the Quadcopter need to obtain a license from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Sullivan wants the public to know that they do not want the Quadcopter to be called a drone.
“If you think about the word drone the stigma is it’s a military technology that is usually equipped with surveillance technology and weaponry,” he said. “And ours our not.”
