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Orem Police and Fire get new, cutting-edge drone technology

Posted at 9:47 PM, Jul 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-02 23:47:47-04

OREM, Utah - A new drone is helping Orem public safety agencies improve their reach.

A local company based in Lindon and also in Canada, called Pro Fire donated the approximately $30,000 drone to the Orem Fire and Police Departments.

“We have a large zoom and visible camera, which allows us to identify persons from several miles away,” explained Orem Fire Battalion Chief, Ryan Peterson. “We also have the latest infrared technology which allows us to identify heat signatures in buildings, which directly helps us prevent fire spread and allows us to identify persons in search and rescue missions, and also identify chemical plumes for hazardous materials response.”

The new drone consists of a steering camera for the pilot, in this case, it’s just Peterson and multiple other cameras that can zoom into a license plate from a couple miles away and also see in the dark.

“[From] over 1,000 feet you can read a license plate; you can identify a person in their clothing color for up to two and a half miles away with our zoom camera,” said Peterson.

The drone can also report information in real time to an incident commander.

For the last 16 years, Pro Fire has helped develop safety equipment to use for oil field fires.

Police and firefighters will be training now to become pilots of the newest drone that were donated.