First responders in the area may soon have the benefit of visual information at the scene, before they arrive on the scene.
Currently fire departments, police, and other first responders have to arrive on the scene first and then launch their own drones to get video and photos from overhead. Until they get to the scene, the first responders are flying blind.
As xCraft CEO and co-founder JD Claridge explained Friday, First iZ will change all that.
An emergency dispatcher will be able to press a button that results in a specially designed drone launching 10 seconds later and flying to the scene of the incident within five minutes. A $15,000 HD camera aboard the drone will feed video to first responders en route to the call, Claridge said.
The Coeur d’Alene-based drone company is testing its First iZ system at the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department’s Station 4 on Atlas Road. Fire department spokesman Craig Etherton said the possibilities are “exciting.”