The DJI Matrice 210 Drone is another set of eyes in the sky for the Los Angeles City Fire Department. LAFD Inspector II, Steve Hamilton, a drone operator, shows us the features that make it an important tool in emergencies and disasters.
One of the latest and largest drones, the DJI Matrice 210 Drone boasts some very sophisticated cameras onboard.
One of them is a super sensitive thermal camera that can show where hand crews need to mop up after a wildland brush fire. It is useful for hazardous material fires as well, when the incident is too dangerous to get close.
DJI Matrice: Helpful for Hazardous Materials Incidents
DJI Matrice 210 can be the eyes in the sky and transmit excellent optics as to what type of material is in the hazmat tank. It can also carry a meter to detect the properties of the hazardous material incident and transmit that information back to the LAFD drone operators.
DJI Matrice 210 is also carrying a massively high-tech camera with a 180 X zoom. This gives the operators the ability to see incident details close-up from a very safe distance.
Carrying zoom cameras and one thermal camera, it is one of the loudest and heaviest drones in use, so it is launched only for very specific tasks. Due to its weight, if there is a loss of the drone, it could cause injuries, and they come with a pretty hefty price tag as well. Fully equipped, they can cost upwards of $20,000 depending on what elements are on board during flight.
The DJI Matrice 210 is just one of a full stable of drones LAFD uses. Other drones are used for other operations like mapping, to give a big picture of an incident, or just providing a view looking straight down on an incident and streaming the data back to the drone team.
Like tools in the toolbox, each drone is considered a tool LAFD can use to get eyes on each task.
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By Shawna McLean