READING — Chief David Clark is pleased to share that the Reading Police Department recently launched a drone unit to assist Reading Fire with ongoing brush fires.
Reading Police deployed the drone for the first time on Friday, Nov. 8, to assist Reading Fire during a brush fire by providing visuals of the area.
The drone is equipped with thermal imaging and night vision capabilities and can conduct crime scene mapping, accident reconstruction, and distance range finding. The drone will assist the department with locating missing people, suspects perimeter security at large events and crime scenes, as well as using thermal imaging for brush fires, house fires, and smoke imagining.
The drone was also used over the weekend to provide visuals of the town forest as a preventative measure to monitor elevated wildfire risks and conditions.
Reading Police currently has eight department members who are certified FAA107 drone operators.
The drone was purchased in September through seizure funds that the department had received from having a department member on the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
“Over the past few days, Chief Clark provided a drone and trained Police Officers to assist the Fire Department in an emergency incident and to detect fire activity. The emergency incident was for a fast-moving brush fire that was threatening homes,” said Reading Fire Chief Greg Burns. “This drone gave the incident commander instant information on the size, intensity, and direction of flame travel. This was critical information that allowed us to position Firefighters effectively and efficiently. The drones were also used for non-emergency incidents to monitor the brushfire area in the overnight hours to ensure the fire did not reignite and to check the Town Forest for fire activity.”
“This drone will be a great resource for our department moving forward and allows us to provide additional support to our mutual aid partners,” said Chief Clark. “The deployment of the drone allowed us to provide an extra layer of support and equipment to best assist Reading Fire. It was a great collaboration between the departments, and we are extremely thankful as a department that we were able to purchase this.”
