Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or drones are frequently being called into public safety service to search for missing persons and victims of natural disasters, inspect crash sites and chemical spills, map wildland fires and flooding, surveil public events for security threats and assess scenes at a safe distance when conditions are too dangerous.
With such diverse and practical applications for public safety, it’s no wonder that some public safety agencies are eager to implement UAS programs. In order to get the program up and running quickly, some public safety agencies are opting to buy commercial-off-the-shelf UAS to do important tasks they are often not suited for. More importantly, agencies often overlook the most important component in a UAS, a well-trained pilot.
Chief Charles Werner (ret.), Director of DRONERESPONDERS says" without formalized standards, the UAS training and certification landscape is like a “patchwork quilt of home-grown training solutions, which threatens the ability of public safety agencies to build consistent operating practices between jurisdictions."
Members of public safety agencies are required to undertake continuing education and prove their qualification to carry a firearm, work with hazardous materials, emergency response and even basic CPR. UAS pilot training should be of a similar professional quality well beyond FAA’s Part 107.
With the advent of UAS, thousands of companies have entered the marketplace hoping to sell their devices and/or services to Public Safety agencies. Over 1,000 agencies around the country are openly using UAS, with numerous others doing so discreetly. But who fosters the proper integration of UAS into these agencies?
In some cases, that falls to commercial companies without any Public Safety background. Others end up having to utilize hobbyists turned entrepreneurs. Part 107 certification has lowered the barrier to entry for the technology and created tremendous opportunities, but receiving certification requires little more than passing a multiple choice only exam that's designed for a 16-year-old high school student. It falls well short of the standardized proficiency which the public expects from the men and women who we depend on.
After all, learning to fly figure 8's or an obstacle course around a park may teach you good maneuvering skills, but it doesn’t teach you how to locate a lost family, acquire the acreage of a wildfire, mark hotspots or make entry into a building in support of law enforcement.
No first responder wants to unintentionally interfere with rescue or tactical operations or find out in the midst of a crisis that his or her UAS training has not prepared them for the situation at hand. To insure this never happens, when acquiring training for your agency, look for a company that has practical training and experience in public safety and UAS for the unique applications that your agency requires.
Several Federal agencies now have internal courses, like the Department of Interior with the A-450 Basic Remote Pilot Course and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) with the S-373 UAS Incident Operations Course, both are excellent courses. But even after completing training, individuals must continue gaining experience and knowledge through completion of their NWCG task books in training and actual incidents.
This certifies that UAS pilots in the agency are not only qualified to operate the UAS as trained, but possess the technical competency and knowledge to understand the UAS and use it in specialized ways when lives and property are at risk.
When researching training for your agency, find a company that offers the specific UAS public safety training to meet your agencies mission requirements.
But most importantly ensure the company and the instructors have solid training and experience in public safety and integrating UAS into operations. A company that’s instructors work in public safety and actually found a lost family, acquired the acreage of a wildfire, marked hotspots or made entry into a building in support of law enforcement.
Content for this post from; PoliceOne.com Laura Neitzel for PoliceOne Brand Focus and Icarus Aerospace