1. CIMCITY COMMISSION INFORMATION MEMORANDUM
July 17, 2017
ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEF FROM CHIEF KEVIN ROYSE
SALINA FIRE DEPARTMENT
The advancement of technology cannot and should not be overlooked in our society
today. Anytime the Salina Fire Department can utilize a process or equipment that will
allow us to perform our mission more safely and efficiently, we owe it to our employees
and our citizens to investigate the technology.
Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as drones or unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAV), have become one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Having
“eyes in the sky” during emergency operations provides protection to citizens and fire
crews, which then provides a significant benefit to public safety agencies. What makes
this technology so valuable is the function of having a camera attached to the UAV that
will allow to see in real time or to document information that would normally take several
people or an extended time to do so.
The public safety sector can use UAV technology for many emergency scene
operations such as for large-area search and rescue of a missing person. These
aircrafts’ speed of search will increase the amount of life-saving time public safety
agencies have while they look for a missing person. You can also use UAVs to create a
grid search where the aircraft will search a specific area of land at a certain altitude.
Thus, you can create a search pattern that the UAV can follow and watch it in real time
on a mobile device; this reduces the amount of time UAVs need to search the land,
especially if search crews cannot reach that land. In addition, a UAV that features
thermal imaging capabilities will make it even easier to spot your person of interest even
at night.
The SFD has recognized this valuable asset and is moving forward with a UAV
program, becoming the second fire department in the state with such a deployable
asset. The advantages of such a tool for the fire service are numerous including:
Searching for lost individuals.
Performing damage assessment from floods or tornadoes or fires.
Allowing information gathering during hazard material incidents while keeping
personnel at a safe distance.
Performing Reconnaissance during structural or wildland fires.
Assisting with documentation of fire investigations or other code officials.
Our department began investigating the use of this technology late last year and
partnered with the Kansas State Polytechnic Applied Aviation Research Center
personnel. This Center is located in Salina and is one of only a few actual Unmanned
Aviation Vehicle programs that can certify personnel in the country. We determined that
having such an internationally known science technology facility so close was an
opportunity that we could not pass up.
This spring the department sent two personnel to become certified UAV pilots and they
both successfully completed the licensing and testing requirements meeting all Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. The FAA has strict rules and regulations
regarding the use of UAVs that all departments must meet. There are several levels of
approval required and Kansas State’s Applied Aviation Research Center has and is
assisting us with meeting those regulations.
Before the end of the year the department will have in its Standard Operating
Guidelines in place as well as the specifications of what type of UAV will be best for our
use. This will give the department an operational capability by late 2017 or early 2018.
Recently, the Salina Police Department has approached us to partner with the use of
the UAV in the future for some of their operations such as search or SWAT type
operations. This presents an excellent opportunity for public safety cooperation with a
deployable asset that can be used by either department.
The possibilities of such a piece of equipment go well past just public safety. Other city
departments could easily utilize this technology for inspecting water towers, damage
assessment or inspection of city infrastructure, crowd control or observation and other
areas that would benefit their respective departments. The possibility of becoming one
of a few fire departments with this capability continues our vision of being the premier
fire-based EMS department in the state.
Example of UAV with camera:
Actual photos of SFD Fire Station 1 from a UAV.
MONDAY’S MEETING
Enclosed are other items on the agenda. If any Commissioner has questions or cannot
attend the meeting, please contact me.
Jason A. Gage, City Manager