Staffing shortages and lack of resources are resulting in heavier workloads causing burnout for Ontario’s first responders. In Toronto alone, the Police Services Board reported that nearly 14,000 callers waited between one and four minutes to speak with an operator in 2021. And even when they did get through, some people reported waiting up to 11 minutes to receive assistance.
In response to this trend, experts have started calling for structural changes to introduce new mechanisms to improve the overall efficiency of emergency services. As a result, many agencies are now turning to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to help reduce response times and enhance safety for the public and first responders.
Help from on high
Drones as first responders help ground crews respond to calls for serious and fatal traffic collisions, missing persons, surveillance, and investigations. As soon as a collision is reported to the police, the department’s drone operators can send a UAV directly to the scene. Drone technology can bypass congestion on highways created by the incident and provide first responders with real-time video coverage of the situation until ground crews arrive.
In addition to UAVs providing crucial visual oversight during daytime and nighttime operations, drone companies such as Draganfly also continue to develop cutting-edge drone solutions needed to help first responders quickly transport life-saving supplies and equipment under any circumstance.
A study from the University of Toronto examined how drone networks could affect 9-1-1 response times across Canada. According to the report, Optimizing a Drone Network to Deliver Automated External Defibrillators, drone technologies were successful at reducing the arrival of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in Toronto by over six and 10 minutes in urban and rural areas.
Draganfly in action
Draganfly has a long and proud history of supporting police and EMS services globally with its drone solutions. For more than two decades, Draganfly has improved public safety with its development of hardware, software, and artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
In 2009, the Ontario Provincial Police’s Forensic Identification Unit used the Draganflyer X6 to help collect evidence in a homicide investigation. This was the first instance a commercial UAV was used in this application in North America. Four years later, Draganfly’s Draganflyer X4-ES was credited as the first drone to save a human life. This drone was able to assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in locating an injured driver in a heavily wooded area in Saskatchewan using an infrared camera. To commemorate the heroic rescue, the Draganflyer drone remains on permanent display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Recently, Draganfly has helped EMS personnel deliver critical medical supplies to people in Texas and fleets of its drone technology have been sent to Ukraine for various humanitarian purposes.
These events have helped Draganfly learn and build on its commitment to developing versatile, North American-made drone solutions to meet the needs of first responders, resulting in the development of the “Swiss Army Knife of Drones.”
Enter: The Commander 3 XL
As Ontario first responders face a staffing crunch, new tools and technology are needed to improve overall response management. Draganfly’s versatile Commander 3 XL is the latest technology to enhance emergency response times and ensure life-saving supplies and equipment can be delivered to hard-to-reach and potentially dangerous areas.
The Commander 3 XL can quickly be deployed for surveillance and reconnaissance purposes during an emergency, providing a visual overview of the situation before ground crews arrive. This drone can help improve response management by providing real-time data when equipped with high-resolution RGB and infrared cameras.
WATCH: Droning Company contributor Chris Fravel with Paul Mullen, COO of Draganfly, at the CUAV Expo 2022
Not only can the Commander 3 XL collect precise, detailed footage and data from the air, but it’s also a cost-cutting solution that can speed up efforts in a sector where every second counts. This drone has a flight range of 24 miles and a flight time of 50 minutes, allowing it to cover large and hard-to-reach areas. This is essential for search and rescue crews to map the entire search zone and pinpoint possible locations of a missing person.
During a call for medical assistance, the Commander 3 XL can deliver supplies at the scenes with its drop and winch-down systems that can transport up to 26 pounds for approximately 20 minutes. Its weather-resistant design also ensures strong performance in both light rain and snow.
In addition to developing cutting-edge drone systems that address real-world problems, Draganfly’s products and services can be easily integrated with existing infrastructure and workflows to efficiently enhance safety systems.
To learn more about Draganfly’s products and services, please visit www.draganfly.com.
