New firefighting drone for Santa Barbara, California
California’s Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD) has acquired a new US$100,000 drone system designed to start backfires
The IGNIS Aerial Ignition System can be used by firefighters to remotely start backfires – small-scale burning designed to consume fuel in the path of a wildfire, hindering its ability to spread.
The drone system is capable of carrying a payload of self-igniting plastic spheres, and can access areas that could be too dangerous for firefighters to start fires in by hand.
The remotely piloted aircraft, which costs nearly $100,000, was donated to the SBCFD by the Santa Barbara Firefighters Alliance, a local nonprofit organization.
Scotland’s Project CAELUS medical drone delivery scheme recently completed its final flight trials.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.