North Las Vegas Fire Department Brings in Drones to Boost Emergency Response and Safety

The North Las Vegas Fire Department has applied drone technology, including both camera and thermal imaging, to its emergency operations functions. It provides live video to both the operators and battalion chiefs, allowing for greater situational awareness and tactical decision-making during incidents. Thermal imaging is imperative to an overall assessment, for anticipating fire spread to nearby structures, and for locating people stuck inside buildings, by observing/identifying temperature differences.

“Usually, we'll send crews around the building, and then they give us information as to what's on the other side. So, instead of trying to paint a picture with words, we now have video to be able to see that picture,” NLVFD Captain Aric Seal says.

During fire incidents, the drones can pinpoint cooler areas that may indicate the presence of people in danger. “When people are trapped inside, they're not as hot as the surroundings, so we're looking for colder objects,” he says. “When we're in a fire, everything's yellow and we're looking for black.”

The department recently utilized the technology during a fire at a construction site, which was later determined to have been caused by an accident. In addition to firefighting, the drones are deployed for investigations and in support of non-fire emergencies. This includes assisting law enforcement and aiding in search efforts for missing persons, particularly in desert areas.

“We have lots of different applications for this. Especially up North here, we have a lot of desert, so we've worked with police and missing persons,” he says. “If we had something significant on the freeway, we'll work with police and fire.”

By providing immediate aerial views and temperature data, the drones offer the department an advanced tool for improving safety, efficiency, and coordination during emergencies.