Drones over the Bay Area, Feb. 10

City of Coos Bay release – On Tuesday night, Feb. 4, the Coos Bay City Council approved the acceptance of a State Homeland Security Grant for the purchase of two drones. These small unmanned aircraft systems will be shared by the fire and police departments of Coos Bay and North Bend in a new inter-agency program. Fire and police agencies are using this technology for aerial imaging or reconnaissance. Examples of some of the applications include Search and Rescue missions, suspect pursuit, active shooter scene surveillance, evaluation of fire conditions and spread, and post-disaster damage assessment. Drones can provide real-time aerial images and video in both high definition resolution and thermal imaging without putting personnel at risk. Drones are lightweight, easy to deploy and operate. They provide a perspective that helps firefighters and law enforcement officers better understand the scope of the incident and develop an informed operations plan. The thermal imaging aspect allows the operator to see through smoke, fog, or darkness. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office has two drones, but the addition of these tools along with trained pilots dedicated to the Coos Bay/North Bend area allows for a timely response. They also add to the County’s resources for response to larger incidents. Coos Bay chose to include the North Bend agencies in the program to provide comprehensive coverage of the whole bay area, which creates reasonable redundancy and strengthens the partnerships between the cities. Each agency will have at least two trained and licensed pilots. Training of these pilots will begin this spring and the program should be operational by July of 2020. The amount of the grant award is $10,700 and will cover the cost of two drones and the training of pilots.