Versatile drones save lives in many different emergency situations

The increased use of drones in all manner of different emergencies along the south coast throughout the summer highlighted the versatile lifesaving capability of the machines.

Drones offer emergency services a new perspective on situations; allow them new tools and access to places otherwise too dangerous to reach.

Whether it was patrolling for sharks in the ocean, monitoring house fires, searching for lost fishermen or capsized boats, drones helped save lives, and the pilots at the controllers say that will only continue to increase as technology develops.

When crews from Fire and Rescue Moruya were called to a Surf Beach house fire on February 26, deputy Dean Brydon and firefighting Rpaz operator James Blakeney rushed to launch their Mavic 2 Enterprise drone and establish an aerial view of the scene.

Crews on the ground were unable to enter the house because the roof was burnt and at risk of collapsing.

However, the drone allowed the pilots to identify lingering hotspots and direct the hoses of the ground crew.

The crew were able to target the blaze without the risk of having to enter the house.

"Structural collapse is one of the most dangerous things we face in house fires," Mr Brydon said.

"Safety is the biggest thing in Fire and Rescue and drones help with safety."

Drones contribute to the safety of firefighters who do not have to enter potentially dangerous dwellings, however they can also identify hazards otherwise missed by fire crews on the ground.

When the pilots were called to a blaze in a Batehaven laundromat on January 16, ground crews believed the site was safe and the blaze under control.

Immediately upon launching, the pilots were able to see solar panels on the roof.

"Nobody knew there were solar panels on the roof," Mr Brydon said.

"Solar panels are dangerous in fires - they can be exposed wires."

The crew were able to isolate the solar panels and prevent any potential electrical explosion.

Fire and Rescue also use the drones to prepare for and prevent emergencies. They have been used for bushfire mitigation - mapping the density of bushland and working to reduce fuel load on the ground, and creating pre-incident fire plans for major community infrastructure such as the council chambers or Moruya Hospital.

The Fire and Rescue drones were life-saving during the search for an injured rock fisherman off the cliffs at Eden in April.

The thermal imaging technology was able to locate the wounded man. While the man didn't speak English, with the help of a translator in Sydney rescue crews communicated to the man through the built-in speaker.

"There are so many tools and valuable things we can get out of it. They are fantastic for risk management," Mr Blakeney said.

The 15 drones operated by the Far South Coast Surf Life Saving (FSCSLS) crew performed more than 2200 flights over the 2022-23 summer period, providing eyes in the sky for more than 600 flying hours.

Lifeguard Coordinator Cheryl McCarthy said the drones helped the life savers to better save lives and stay safe.

"Beachgoers tell us they feel safer knowing there are drones at the beach," she said.

The drones are used for education, for example teaching nippers what rips look like from above and why they are dangerous, monitoring the beaches for hazards such as sharks or rips, searching for missing people or communicating to swimmers through the inbuilt speaker system.

The FSCSLS crew's drones were used by the SES to locate hazards and assess damage to infrastructure during the 2022 flooding in western NSW.

Ms McCarthy said the use of drones was all about safety, speed and versatility.

"They give rescuers a much better idea of what they are dealing with before they go in," she said.

"They are extra eyes in the sky before we have teams heading into potentially dangerous situations."

Recently the FSCSLS duty officer was commuting to work and saw what appeared to be a boat in distress off the coastline. He had the drone in the car and used it to fly over the boat, alerting Marine Rescue to the boat's needs before continuing on to work.

Ms McCarthy said it showed how useful drones could be.

She said the life-saving potential of the drones was endless and new technology progressions kept improving the capabilities of the drones.

Tuross Head resident and keen photographer Maree Jackson uses her drone for aerial photography and researching the hundreds of whales migrating up and down the coast each year.

Working with NSW National Parks, Ms Jackson is building a database of whale numbers and habits, particularly focusing on the endangered southern right whales.

The only way to identify specific southern right whales is by photographing their distinctive heads.

"We simply wouldn't be able to do that without a drone," Ms Jackson said.

However, Ms Jackson's quick thinking and aerial skills proved lifesaving in a dramatic rescue when a boat capsized off Potato Point in March.

Before emergency services were aware of an issue, Ms Jackson was on the scene at Tuross Head, with her drone in the sky hovering over the capsized vessel and searching for survivors. She eventually found them on a beach not accessible by car, and was able to read the word 'help' written in the sand by the boat's skipper and alert authorities.

"We could never go out and search the ocean like that before," she said.

"Now we are able to find people very quickly and help them."