SHERBROOKE — A pair of high-tech, low-flying, heat-seeking drones will soon join the firefighting arsenal of the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s, thanks to a timely grant from the provincial Emergency Services Provider Fund.
Warden James Fuller says the new multi-rotor “prop choppers” – about the size of large serving trays – will help members of eight local volunteer fire departments prevent and fight fires across the municipality’s 1,900 square kilometres of mostly wooded territory.
“Council has approved applying for one of the [grants available through the] Emergency Services Provider Fund to take the lead in purchasing a couple of drones [to be] used by all [of] our fire departments,” Fuller said in an interview last week.
According to a statement released by the municipality, the drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras that can assist first responders in a range of activities, including pinpointing accurate heat detection in both field and structure fires, reconnaissance and surveillance of smoke and heat patterns not visible from the ground, and body temperature detection for search and rescue operations.
The plan calls for the drones to be stationed in strategically located fire department facilities and deployed according to existing mutual aid agreements between departments. Operators will require advanced drone pilot certification from Transport Canada.
St. Mary’s has eight volunteer fire departments serving rural communities from Eureka, Ecum Secum, Liscomb and Sherbrooke to Port Bickerton, Goshen, Aspen and all points between. “The new grants allow for a regional approach to public safety,” Fuller stated in the release. “After confirming that the municipality can be the lead agency, I contacted our local fire chiefs, and they were all supportive of this initiative.”
According to Fuller, who is a volunteer firefighter and medical first responder, “The average cost to equip a firefighter with new gear can run up to $11,000, including bunker gear and breathing apparatus ... With this funding by the province available, the time is right to seek the valuable [drone] equipment,”
The Emergency Services Provider Fund, introduced in 2007, was designed to address the equipment gaps in municipal fire and emergency services, particularly in rural areas, by helping local first responder organizations buy specialized tools like personal protective equipment (PPE), self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs), and communication gear. It excludes vehicle purchases and infrastructure upgrades.
Last year, responding to growing demands on rural emergency services in Nova Scotia, the province quadrupled the fund’s budget – from $1 million to $4 million. Under the new structure, individual departments can access up to $30,000 in matching funds, while regional partnerships can apply for up to $200,000.
Fuller said the cost of St. Mary’s drones – including training – is around $35,000, with up to 90 per cent of that covered by the grant. “With the municipality covering the balance, our local responders can use the available individual organization grants for important personal safety equipment they need without worrying about their own funds going towards a regional project.”
The use of drones to fight fires and augment other emergency response operations is on the rise in rural Nova Scotia. In April 2023, the Wallace Volunteer Fire Department deployed a drone to help locate and rescue a man lost in the woods.
Drones were also used in the ultimately unsuccessful search for a young boy who fell into the water near Cooks Cove in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough in April.
Said Fuller: “We are actually taking proactive steps in the protection of the lives and property of our citizens.”
