Today, we talk about using drones for public safety.  Of course, this is a topic we’ve covered in the past.  If you’re a regular listener, you may remember episodes in which we talked about Part 107 licenses and COAs for police departments.  Specifically, we discussed which authorization was a better option for public safety offices.

We received a ton of feedback on that episode!  While many people were happy with the information we provided, some members of the public safety community called us out on the mistakes we made.  As always, we appreciate the feedback.

In order to get a better understanding of authorizations for public safety offices, we invited Keenan Newton on to discuss his experience as a drone pilot working in public safety.  Currently, Keenan works for the Linwood Fire Department.

Keenan gives us the rundown of what we got wrong.  Additionally, he talks about the current state of public safety drone training and chats about his experience taking a public safety class at Florida State University.

This episode should be interesting to any drone pilot interested in (or currently) flying drones in the public safety sphere.  Fly safe out there!

Also, remember to pick up a Drone U landing pad!

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Timestamps

Today we talk about drones for public safety

Paul introduces Keenan Newton from the Fire Department

Keenan corrects and clarifies some of the Part 107 and COA topics that Paul raised in a previous episode

Can you get a SGI (Special Government Interest) under a Part 107?

When and where are emergency COA's useful?

Can you be arrested for flying in an unauthorized way in an emergency situation in Texas?

Keenan differentiates between a blanket COA and a jurisdictional COA

What are some of the reasons for opting for Part 107 rather than COA?

We discuss the new public standards for public safety officers who use drones

Paul goes over the pitfalls of providing poor drone training

Keenan shares his experience of taking the public safety course at Florida State University