TOWN OF DOVER – A drone was used on Tuesday, May 10th, to evaluate a brush fire in Eastern Dutchess County. The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) sent a member of their Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Unit to assist the fire command at the fire in the woods between Route 343 and Cart Road in the Town of Dover.
A DCSO Deputy, certified as an FAA Part 107 Licensed Remote Pilot established overwatch to provide situational awareness at the command post.
The aerial footage afforded the incident commander with real-time information to evaluate the size of the fire, the rugged terrain that the firefighters were encountering during fire suppression, and confirm that there were no other hot spots in the area.
J.H. Ketcham Hose, with the assistance of mutual aid fire departments and NYS Forest Rangers, contained and extinguished the fire that was covering between four and six acres of land.
The Sheriff’s Office UAS Unit, consisting of several FAA Part 107 Licensed Remote Pilots, works with fire departments, police agencies, Dutchess County Emergency Management and the U.S. Coast Guard to provide real-time situational awareness to incident commanders during escalating incidents.
The UAS is one of the busiest specialized units within the DCSO. A previous Mid-Hudson News story about the unit can be found by clicking here.
