Will Be Used To Improve Communications And Safety

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) has started training its first responders in the use of unmanned aircraft with a goal of improving communications and safety in emergency situations.

The agency recently demonstrated its drones during a simulated airplane accident. Television station WMAZ reports that GEMA Area 4 Field Coordinator and UAS (unmanned aircraft system) Program Manager Jason Ritter said that UAVs allow first responders to get to victims more rapidly and assess the situation. It also gives them better situational awareness as they travel to the scene.

Ritter said that among the advantages are GPS coordination and real-time video that can be captured and played back anywhere.

The agency will use drones to protect the people who are trying to protect others. They are not intended to replace the human element, but to work with them in emergency situations.

Georgia Public Safety Training Center representative John Hutcheson said that the aircraft can be useful in situations like the one currently being experienced in Texas. He said that "once we get to where we can share it, it will benefit in incidents like that."

(Image from file)

FMI: Original Report, www.gema.ga.gov, www.gpstc.org