Drones proving to be a powerful asset for high-rise building fire safety

As South Wales Fire and Rescue Service launches a new campaign focused on high-rise buildings, it reveals how drones are being used to improve situational awareness, creating a clear view on operations while reducing risk.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) is among the first fire and rescue services in the UK to trial a new, advanced drone designed to support incident response, particularly in high-rise environments. It features a multi-lingual speaker system capable of delivering evacuation messages in five different languages.

Operating at night, the drone has powerful searchlights that are complemented by an on-board thermal imaging camera. It also has power AI engine that can help identify human presence.

With the ability to livestream the video feed directly back to the control room, the drone is providing contemporaneous information about the incident allowing operators and incident commanders the same view of the what is happening. This capability comes nine years after the Grenfell Tower fire in West London where 72 people died; SWFRS says that this approach is addressing a key learning point identified in the Grenfell Inquiry.

“When we arrive at an incident, every second matters. Having real-time aerial footage and the ability to communicate directly with control room operators – letting them see what we can see from above – gives us a huge advantage. It helps us make faster, safer decisions and ultimately protect more lives.”

Kev Dite, Drone Operator, SWFRS.

As well as using the capability in high-rise situations, SWFRS says that it has already used it as part of the response to large wildfires.

The campaign, ‘Be ready. Stay safe’ is part of SWFRS and the Welsh Government’s focus on improving communication with residents and strengthening situational awareness during incidents. This is aided by the service making detailed digital building plans for every high-rise residential building across the region accessible by crews through mobile data terminals on fire appliances.

Visit The Emergency Tech Show to find out more about how drones are being used to improve operational response and sharpen situation awareness. Registration is now open for the show which runs from 16-17 September at the NEC in Birmingham.