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DFR is a new tool for Conn. city

Live drone video feed helps responders know what to expect

Stamford Drone Program.png

Facebook / Stamford Government

By Marissa Alter, New York News 112

STAMFORD, Conn. — When Stamford’s 911 center got a call for a fire on Bedford Street the night of Oct. 10, a drone was the initial first responder on scene and fed back live video of what firefighters could expect.

“They had visual evidence of a fire on the ninth floor of an apartment building, long before our crews even got on the road in the fire truck. And the dispatch supervisor who was flying the drone at the time was able to relay that information,” explained Capt. Brian Whitbread, of the Stamford Fire Department. “It’s a difficult fire to fight, and that put them in the ready mode, which I think gave a significant head start on the activity of putting that fire out.”

That incident was just one example of Stamford’s new Drone as First Responder Program in action.

Read the full story here: ‘A game changer.’ Drone as First Responder Program gives Stamford new public safety tool

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