DE PERE, Wis. (NBC 26) — Wednesday afternoon fire departments responded to an ice rescue call on the Fox River near the Highway 172 bridge.
After a search, officials said they didn't find any evidence of someone falling through.
"Today, [drones] could pick out the ice fishing holes on the ice," De Pere Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Jack Mlnarik said. "If you can pick out the ice fishing holes, you can certainly see a lot of other things that are beneficial too.
De Pere Fire Rescue has had its drone for nearly three years. And the department says it's gone a long way.
"We'd have to put a bunch of people on the ice to cover a large area to look for people," Mlnarik said. "And with this drone, it can cover a large amount of area in minutes and we don't have to put the people at risk."
Ron Cody and Mike Wessley are certified drone pilots for the City of De Pere. The two firefighters say they sometimes take flight once a month or multiple times a day.
"It's all thumb controls and trying to watch the video screen and not watch the drone that's overhead," Cody said. "So one person will watch the drone while another one watches the screen."
They can use the $4,000 device when there's a blaze. That way, they have the option to switch on thermal imaging to find people or target primary sources of heat.
But before they got the drone?
"At a fire, we actually put people on a roof and we have to cut holes and look for heat underneath the roof," Wessley said.
The most important benefit they say is safety. In a search-and-rescue scenario, the drone allows for less personnel.
"We've used it for searching," Mlnarik said. "We can cover large areas. We don't have to put people out in lines. Fire situations… we could put it over the top of the building that's on fire. We can look at conditions."
Cody and Wessley can also bring out the flying camera when they work with police.
"If it's a hostile situation where the drone could be put at risk versus a person," Cody said.
While they have to get certified as pilots every two years, the department says it's worth it for any city.
"If you had a drone, you could then possibly not put as many people at risk and you can save time by getting a much better view," Cody said.
