Agencies Adding Drone Use To Aid In First Response
By Stan Bush
FORT COLLINS (CBS4) - Six agencies in Larimer County are adding drone use to their regular operations.
"Every week there is like wow we could use this," says Jeremy Yonce, spokesman for the Fort Collins Police Department. "It would have protected people."
Police and fire departments in Fort Collins and Loveland, the Larimer County Sheriff's Department, and Colorado State University held a demonstration of their drone program Thursday.
The first response agencies believe drones will vastly improve their ability to assess emergency situations from wildfires, hazmat incidents, search & rescue operations, and more - keeping personnel out of harm's way.
"Structure fires are a place where maybe we can gain information without putting a person in harm's way," Captain Frank Dreckman of the Poudre Fire Authority said.
The program goes into effect July 1st.
Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.
