BP Drone Backs up BIFD at Prescribed Burn

The Bainbridge Island Fire Department conducted a burn at the Bloedel Reserve on August 17. The Bainbridge Prepares TechOps Drone Team was there to support the operation.

The burn, which happened on 0.9 acres in Buxton Meadow, served as a training exercise, but it also helped reduce dangerous fuel loads that could ignite at another time when there wasn’t a crew of firefighters with hoses surrounding the area. This is the third year in a row that firefighters have conducted a burn in that location.

Pascal Schuback, BP Program Director and TechOps Co-Lead, was one of the volunteers deploying the drone, a.k.a. Drone 21. They used it to monitor the fire from above. Because the drone is equipped with thermal-imaging capabilities, they also used it at the end of the exercise to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.

This video from the Kitsap Sun shows Schuback with the drone and the drone flying over the burn:

Photo courtesy of Karis Tsolomitis, BIFD. Video courtesy of the Kitsap Sun.