Three fire departments in Allegan County banded together this year to purchase a high-end drone that can be called upon for search-and-rescue, fire investigations and much more.
"We wanted to embrace technology," said Saugatuck Township Fire District Chief Greg Janik, "And we felt if we collaborated, we could get a better, superior product. We rely on each other to begin with, so it's really just another extension of working together. Why have three drones? Why not get together, build a drone team amongst the three departments and share it?"
The drone is a DJI-brand Matrice 300 and purchasing the drone plus outfitting it with a high-quality camera has cost a total of about $30,000 so far. But sharing the drone means the three departments get to split the bill, making it an affordable investment for each.