Fire Fighting in Canada: Drones in the Fire Service

Hope, B.C., Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy speaks with Scott Wilkinson, senior academy officer in the training academy at the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) about how the department is using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to augment firefighting efforts. Scott provides an overview of the benefits of using drones to help incident commanders at fire scenes. He also explains how a department can get started, where to purchase equipment and the type of training that’s needed. The WFPS now has 18 trained pilots across four shifts as well as a cadre of trained visual observers to assist the pilots.