The drone is a DJI Matrice 30T Combo from Unmanned Vehicle Technologies (UVT), a company based out of Arkansas. The drone and accessories cost $17,300 total, paid for primarily through grants and donations.

Terry Buczkowski, chief of the Posen area fire and rescue team, said that they received $5,000 from the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, $2,500 from Presque Isle Electric and Gas, and another $5,000 from DTE Energy.

On Saturday, Chris Proudlock, a salesperson from UVT, walked the fire and rescue team through the proper use and maintenance of the drone.

The drone’s features include a high-resolution camera, a spotlight, thermal imaging, and software that allows the drone’s controller to pin objects/areas of interest to come back to and track moving objects. The controller has a microphone equipped that allows a person to talk through a speaker on the drone if they need to assure someone that help is on the way, for instance. There is also a text-to-speech option.

News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Posen Fire and Rescue Chief Terry Buczkowski receives instructions from UVT Salesperson Chris Proudlock on how to use the drone that they purchased through grant funding. It will be used as an aid in search and rescue and other missions.

The drone can be programmed to fly a certain route, or it can be controlled manually.

“It’s probably one of the most popular public safety drones in the country,” Proudlock said.

Proudlock listed some ways that the drone could be used, including overwatch for fires or missing people, accident reconstruction, mapping, or providing live feeds.

Buczkowski discussed certain rescue missions in the past where the drone would have been useful.

For instance, the drone could be used during Posen’s Potato Festival so fire and rescue personnel can monitor the events through the live feed.

“With the drone up in the sky at all times, we can have actual information that we can respond to right away,” Proudlock said.

As a volunteer department, if they get a call during business hours for a missing person, it can be difficult to get all the help they need to cover a large search area. The drone can simplify that process and seek out a person before volunteers reach the scene.

Buczkowski and one other member of the department have earned their Part 107 license, which is needed to fly a drone commercially. Others in the department are working on receiving their licenses as well. They will have six pilots total.

There are some restrictions on the drone’s flight. It cannot surpass an altitude of 400 feet, and certain areas, like the National Guard base in Alpena, are considered no-fly zones, Buczkowski said.

They also cannot fly directly over moving people or cars, Proudlock said.

However, for as powerful as the camera is on the drone, that regulation will not cause many issues. In a practice flight, Buczkowski flew the drone over 2,000 feet away from the Posen water tower. The image of the tower was crystal clear on the monitor despite the distance.

The drone comes with four sets of two rechargeable batteries. Each set of batteries allows the drone to fly for 25 minutes.

“You can stay up long enough to gather information,” Proudlock said. “As soon as you land this drone, you can hot swap the batteries, you don’t need to turn it off. You land it, take one off at a time, put the other back in, within 30 seconds.”

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.