A new state-of-the-art drone is already helping search and rescue group WightSAR save lives and protect property across the Island.
The drone, which was funded by a £12,000 grant from Island Roads’ Isle of Wight Foundation, has been deployed in a number of incidents in recent months, including July’s Headon Warren fire and another major blaze at an industrial site in Ryde.
It has also been used in searches for missing vulnerable people on the Island.
The DJI Matrice 4TDdrone is equipped with a thermal-imaging camera as well as other technology such as high-resolution cameras, collision avoidance and aircraft detection.
At the catastrophic heath fire at Headon Warren in July, it was particularly useful for guiding the jets of water from long-range hoses onto hotspots and fires on the remote grassland.
Dean Terrett, chairman of WightSAR and one of the pilots, said: “The terrain was particularly difficult and the help the drone gave made life easier for the brave fire crews.”
He said the drone’s cameras were able to provide firefighters with a huge amount of technical intelligence during the incident.
Also in July, a fire in an industrial and storage yard in the Ryde area again showed the drone’s capabilities.
At one point, the drone’s thermal images allowed controllers to alert firefighters to withdraw from a potentially hazardous situation developing inside a container and it also, again, directed long-range hoses to the most-effective locations. It took nearly two days for the fire to be extinguished and the drone was in action for 37 hours.
Away from fire duties, the drone was twice deployed to search for vulnerable people. In June it successfully located a man undergoing a mental health crisis who had hidden himself in a copse near to St Mary’s Hospital and in May, it conducted widespread foreshore sweeps between Ryde and East Cowes during a hunt for a man believed to have swum from the mainland.
As well as emergency incidents, the drone has also been used to monitor events including a round-the-Island run where it monitored competitors travelling through tricky paths in Luccombe in misty weather.
WightSAR is now using some of the IW Foundation funding to train four to five additional pilots, complementing the three already operating within the team.
Dean said: “The continued support of the IW Foundation, which now amounts to more than £50,000 over the years, has been vital to our efforts to save lives and protect property. We are extremely grateful for the support.”
Eddie Fellows, chairman of the IW Foundation, which is made up of companies behind Island Roads, said: “The tremendous work WightSAR does in saving lives and protecting people is so important. We were delighted to hear what a huge difference the grants have made to their effectiveness.”
Iain Lawrie, resilience co-ordinator, Isle of Wight Council, said: “The recent use of drone technology during large fire incidents demonstrates the important role WightSAR plays in supporting emergency operations. Its drone capability provides valuable real-time information that assists responders and improves awareness during challenging incidents.
“We work closely with WightSAR and other voluntary sector partners and are grateful for the commitment and professionalism they continue to show in helping keep communities safe.
The companies behind the IW Foundation are Island Roads Services, Meridiam, Vinci Concessions and Ringway Island Roads. All money is donated as part of their community programmes separate from the Highways PFI money.
For more about WightSAR including details of how to become a volunteer visit https://www.wightsar.org/