MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – There’s a buzz around the Myrtle Beach Fire Department’s newest members of the team– four drones.
“We’ve had a drone that our IT person has let us use, it’s been his private drone that he’s flown for us, and it’s given us great video over the years. This is something that we’ve wanted to do, to get our own, but cost wise, it’s not been in our budget to do,” Lt. Evans with the Myrtle Beach Fire Department said.
Myrtle Beach’s Rotary Club recently donated money to the city’s fire department so it could purchase the drones. Evans says these new drones give a whole new perspective to fighting fires.
“They have that high def camera, which is fantastic for training and everything else, but it also has an infrared feature which helps us see where the fire might be traveling once it’s broken through a roof, or we might be able to see where firefighters are,” Evans said.
Department officials say the drones can also be used during search and rescue operations and clearing out large areas during emergencies.
“We also have the capability with these that they have a speaker system for beach rescues, or if we have a lost child, we can put them up, record a message, and fly it around either to locate that person, or if we need to clear the beach quickly, we can fly the drone instead of somebody walking through or driving through to let them know there’s a danger in that area,” Evans said.
The drones cost roughly $3,000 each. MBFD is currently training around 20 employees to fly the drones.
