The Sewickley Township Emergency Management Agency is taking its resources to the sky with a drone recently purchased for $34,000.
Director Glenn Wees said the device will help the agency assess emergency situations, such as search and rescue operations, from the air.
“Once we get the team built, we’ll be willing to go anywhere with it in the county,” he said.
The agency appears to be the first of its type in Westmoreland County to have a drone, according to Cassandra Kovatch, public information officer for the county’s Department of Public Safety. Murrysville police, North Huntingdon EMS and the county’s rough terrain team all have drone capabilities, she said.
Wees is working on building a 22-person team to help work with the agency’s drone, which has a thermal imaging camera and a spotlight. The agency is working with Keystone Clippers Radio Control Club for practice space. In exchange, club members are allowed to use the agency’s building for their meetings.
Two people are being certified as drone pilots.
Wees anticipates the device assisting during emergency incidents in the township’s diverse land makeup, from large wooded areas and farms to small towns such as Herminie, Rillton and Lowber.
That could range from a lost person to flooding, he said.
“This way, we can go in, fly over, make a damage assessment” and get the information back to officials faster, he said.
Wees expects the drone — which has the capability to carry 12 pounds — to be available later this year. It’s the biggest project the agency has undertaken, he said.
“We knew it was going to take some time,” he said.
