It’s a high-tech piece of equipment with heat sensors, a speaker for one-way communication and bright lights. All of this comes at a price, with the drone costing more than US$4,000. Fortunately, a grant from Alabama’s Mountains Rivers and Valleys Resource Conservation and Development Council meant the purchase was possible.

Tim Guffey, Jackson County Commission Chairman, said: "We've got a lot of areas in Jackson County that a lot of people get trapped in, areas that people maybe get hurt. This technology will seek them out, find out where they're at and enable us to talk to them.”