During the past couple of years, we have seen the gradual increase of drought related fires creating havoc and chaos all throughout the state of New South Wales. In particular, the tragic fires of 2019-2020 that were unfortunately signified through the loss of 26 lives, over 2,000 homes and roughly 5.5 millions hectares of land. While communities are gradually recovering from such a travesty, the Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) must prepare for the next wave of fires.

So to best prepare for the upcoming severity of these seasonal fires, the Fire and Rescue NSW have turned towards drone innovation and technology to help assist them in their efforts to minimise damage and to save and protect lives.

A History Of Drone Innovation 

In order to increase organisational efficacy in life-threatening circumstances, FRNSW has been deploying drones since 2016. Since then, drones have evolved from being supporting aircraft to integral tools thanks to the proven and reliable technology as well as the increase in accessibility.

With the introduction of more promising technology such as thermal imaging, there is more reason for the FRNSW to integrate Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) into their line of work as their response to various scenarios could be greatly enhanced.

The addition of thermal imaging into drone technology enables monitoring from the sky alongside radiometric thermal sensing which ultimately enables responders to have increased situation awareness. This is due to the capability of the payloads to provide key information such as heat detection to identify sources of reignition as well as visibility through foggy and dark environments. Such information can also be used for determining safe entry points in structural fres.

Ultimately drones pose as more affordable and practical tools that can be used in conjunction with satellite imagery to assist with the many challenges the FRNSW may face.

Read More: Why The DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is Now the Go To

Using the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced For Firefighting

In March 2020, FRNSW tested the functionalities of the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced M2EA in various scenarios - petrol station fires, building fires and urbans rescues to observe if thermal imaging, zoom capabilities and rapid deployment (key fire defending requirements) were achievable with the drone.

In the petrol station scenario the FRNSW crew was able to see through the smoke from a safe distance and determine whether there were people inside thanks to DJI's split-view feature.

“The ability to zoom with the thermal massively increases the benefits of the drone. At full zoom, the quality is comparable to a Z30. In a drone this small that allowed us to stay clear of the danger and still have closeup imaging in each scenario.”

Overall, the M2EA performed well with the key takeaways being the beneficial size for portability within a firetruck without compromise for capability.

“The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced performed outstandingly well... The clarity of the thermal image amazed the onlookers over the live stream,” - Onur Ayyildiz, Senior Firefighter at FRNSW.

A Little More Info on the M2EA

A refined, compacted figure with foldable arms, a variety of payload compatibility, 31 minutes of flying time, and omnidirectional obstacle sensing are what enterprise users can anticipate with this drone model.

The visual camera has been updated with a new 48 MP visual camera equipped with a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor and 32x digital zoom and the thermal camera has been advanced with a thermal resolution of 640x512 at 30Hz. An attachable RTK module has been included as support for the sensor upgrades which makes accurate real-time positioning possible for applications like scene mapping and search and rescue.

The M2EA is ultimately the most advanced thermal drone on the market that's simultaneously fast and agile and that allows for longer aerial endurance.

Read More: DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced Unboxing 

How Does The M2EA Add To The Team 

With 334 stations located throughout NSW the main concern for FRNSW is usually the time required for drone setup, space requirements for transport and certainty of the pilot's awareness on different drone models.

Instead of adding just another drone to the list of facilitative equipment, the addition of the M2EA is anticipated to condense the organisation’s management as this model has more multi purpose functionalities. In the future, it is ideal to reduce confusion for FRNSW pilots by only requiring them to master the operation of the M2EA and the M300 TRK. Simplifying down to these two models maximise drone capabilities while also freeing up more truck storage space for other equipment.

“With the new Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced, there are no compromises. Having the biggest specs in the smallest package is very advantageous. The M2EA offers a high-quality dual sensor that is comparable to the XT2. No other drone has this size thermal and RGB in this size package.”

Read More: How Can DJI Enterprise Drones Be Used For Public Safety?

How did the M2EA Perform?

Effective emergency response depends on being able to make wise decisions fast.

The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is a high-spec addition to your fleet without sacrificing performance. Whether you're locating hotspots, looking for survivors, or directing crews to safety from above, the Mavic 2 Enterprise series provides an agile, safe, and portable platform that's easy to deploy and ready for action in seconds. Not to mention, its redesigned thermal and RBG sensors also significantly improve situational awareness to decrease guesswork during missions. When every second matters, the M2EA lives up to its name as it is easy to launch, gets to its destination quickly, and is incredibly capable once it gets there.

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