Naperville Gets FAA Approval To Deploy Drone
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Naperville Fire Department has become one of the first in the state to get FAA approval to use a drone.
Division Chief Andy Dina said the drone will have many uses besides giving crews a better vantage point while fighting fires.
"Some of the things that we could use it for is search and rescue. We could use it to go over large open areas where somebody might be missing, or they might be injured and not know exactly where they're at. We could use it for hazmat incidents where we don't want to get personnel in too close. We could also use it to assess damage from natural disasters," he said.
Five department employees have been certified as drone pilots by the FAA, and others have received training as observers from the Illinois State Police.
"Our guys have been training, been learning how to use it, looking over all the FAA rules," he said. "We also have to be real careful about the Drone Surveillance Act, so we don't use it for any type of surveillance."
The department is looking forward to putting it to use.
The drone and training cost less than $3,000.