Helena Fire Department utilizing the skies with new drone

HELENA, Mont. - Drones will soon take to the skies to help the Helena Fire Department.

Thanks to a grant awarded to Montana’s six largest cities, Helena Fire has a new $28,342 drone that can be deployed for several public safety related reasons.

The City of Helena says the drone was received in April of 2023 and since then, seven different Fire Department staff have earned FAA training and licensing.

Plans for the drone are to utilize it for Hazardous Materials incidents, searching for people stranded on the City’s Open Lands, helping to analyze buildings during a fire and more.

Steel City Drones, LLC manufactured the drone, which features a thermal imager, camera, and gas-radiation meter.