Battalion Chief Richard Fields will host a presentation on the integration of drones into firefighting at the Los Angeles Fire Department. The LAFD’s primary goal for integrating UAS technology is to increase situational awareness while providing critical information necessary to guide decision-making. Ultimately, those decisions impact the level of risk to firefighters' lives.
The enhancement of situational awareness provides structure and details for hazard mitigation during the incident and sets the foundation for incident stabilization and post-incident recovery. More importantly, this increased situational awareness positively impacts firefighter safety during wildland firefighting, technical rescues, search operations, and hazardous materials incidents.
Chief Fields has a BS in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne, has served 25 years in the Los Angeles Fire Department, and currently holds the rank of Battalion Chief. In 2015, Chief Fields introduced the idea of integrating UAS technology into the LAFD. In 2017, the LAFD launched the LAFD UAS Unit and received a Certificate of Authorization from the FAA in January 2018. Chief Fields is the program coordinator and has directly overseen all aspects of the program since its inception. The Los Angeles Fire Department has emerged as a Public Safety leader in developing and integrating UAS technology in the fire service.