A pair of Rockford firefighters keep their eyes to the sky. Each crane their necks towards a buzzing dot descending from above. One lowers their head as they focus on a controller. Jostling thumbs direct a drone to land on a bright orange pad. Cones surround the marked off area inside the Rockford Fire Departmentโs training academy. โItโs quite the experience,โ comments Jason Sweet โ a driver, engineer and drone pilot with Rockford Fire. Behind him, the departmentโs newest drone returns to its landing pad. Sweet joins other firefighters training with the latest gadget on Tuesday.
In 2016, Rockford Fire started the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS): a drone program for emergency responses. โWe were an early adopter,โ says Trevor Hogan, the UASโs program manager (and a captain with RFD). โThis is still a new program, I would say, but weโre ahead of the game as far as what other communities are doing around us.โ Hogan leads 25 certified pilots handling three drones. His teamโs newest addition cost $10,000, but firefighters claim its benefits are priceless.
