By Isle of Wight Observer
A state-of-the-art drone, funded by a £12,000 grant from the Isle of Wight Foundation, is already helping search and rescue team, WightSAR, save lives and protect property across the Island.
The DJI Matrice 4TD drone, equipped with a thermal-imaging camera, high-resolution optics, and aircraft detection, has been deployed in several high-profile incidents.
During July’s catastrophic heath fire at Headon Warren, the drone provided critical technical intelligence, guiding long-range hose jets onto remote hotspots. Dean Terrett, WightSAR chairman and drone pilot, said: “The terrain was particularly difficult, and help the drone made life easier for the brave fire-crews.”
Later that month, the drone flew for 37 hours during a major industrial fire in Ryde. Its thermal camera alerted firefighters to withdraw from a developing hazard inside a container and directed water hoses effectively.
The drone has also proven vital in searches for vulnerable people. In June, it located a man in a mental health crisis hidden in a copse near St Mary’s Hospital, and in May, swept the foreshore between Ryde and East Cowes in a search for a swimmer missing from the mainland.
WightSAR is now using part of the funding to train four to five additional pilots to join its current three.
Eddie Fellows, IW Foundation chairman, said: “The tremendous work WightSAR does in saving lives and protecting people is so important. We were delighted to hear what a huge difference the grants have made.”
For more information or to volunteer, visit iw.observer/wightsar.org.
