UNDATED, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has announced that it will receive just under $1,000,000 in Fire Prevention and Safety Grant money from FEMA for the purposes of developing a free public safety drone compliance program that includes educational training and a searchable knowledgebase that tracks fire service drone programs and usage.
According to an official press release, many U.S. fire departments are without the proper information, knowledge, and experience needed to establish and maintain a legally sound public safety program that is compliant with FAA regulations, as well as the standards established by ASTM International, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NFPA.
As a result, fire departments may fly drones inappropriately, may inappropriately gather information during an incident, and may interfere with manned and unmanned flight operations in the area, may inappropriately gather information during an incident; and may interfere with manned and unmanned flight operations in the area, all of which could needlessly expose fire departments to liability.
The new initiative will follow the successful NFPA Emerging Technologies training development and dissemination model that has been in effect since 2010.
The NFPA drone project will generate the guidance, learnings, and best practices that U.S. fire departments need to establish a compliant, successful drone program by:
- assessing the current level of understanding, policies, and standards on public safety drone usage;
- developing a drone program framework, including resources, education, and an accessible portal which allows departments to comply with current regulations and standards;
- tracking fire service drone programs and their relevant use cases; and
- freely disseminating essential information and training so that departments can establish regionally and nationally compliant public safety drone programs.
“As we have seen with NFPA alternative fuel vehicle and energy storage system training, the fire service is eager to learn about emerging technologies that may present new hazards, or in this case, help to mitigate and monitor safety challenges,” said Christian Dubay, P.E., NFPA vice president and chief engineer. “The new educational resources and portal will help fire departments across the country confidently establish and maintain public safety drone programs.”
The new NFPA drone research project will begin in fall 2019, with deliverables expected to be completed by September 2021.
