Metro Fire’s UAV Program is among the largest in the Region. With daily pilot and aircraft availability, a Metro Fire UAV pilot can deploy aircraft quickly and with the capability to stream Visual and Thermal camera and video images to Command, as well as to potentially delivery payloads like PFDs and Radios. Capable of day and night flight. 

The UAV Program is staffed by on-duty pilots who are deployed from the station they are working at that day. Each shift has several qualified pilots and an average of 3-4 pilots are available on each shift day. All pilots have completed Ground School and Flight training, and are qualified to fly a variety of different aircraft. Used primarily to gather situational awareness on scene of emergencies, the UAVs work directly for the Incident Commander. All field deployed UAVs in our program are capable of day and night flight as well as thermal imaging and live remote video streaming, providing excellent information gathering capabilities over all kinds of incidents. Many aircraft also have spotlight and loud speaker capabilities. Our aircraft and pilots can also provide orthomosaic mapping capabilities and payload delivery of items like personal floatation devices and radios. UAVs can also be requested for ‘planned need’ incidents, such as documenting Battalion level drills, providing pre-plan imaging of public areas, and any other instance that requires aerial imaging.