LISTEN: Park Rapids Fire Chief Joe Carlson’s conversation with Jay Thomas
PARK RAPIDS, Minn. – The Park Rapids Fire Department has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to buy a drone to use during search-and-rescue and wildland fighting situations saying every time the chief requested one from the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office, it wasn’t available.
On April 14, the department investigated a crash were a vehicle hit a tree and became on fire and no one was inside. Firefighters requested a drone to help search for the driver after they weren’t able to be found using foot and thermal imaging searches.
“We need a drone that can stand sustained winds. I’m really excited from an incident commander perspective to have some eyes in the sky because during a grass fire, you can’t see anything but a wall of smoke,” Park Rapids Fire Chief Joe Carlson said on “The Jay Thomas Show”.
The fundraiser has a goal of $30,000.
Chief Carlson said one of his firefighters is Federal Aviation Administration certified to be a drone pilot.
