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A drone was a lifesaver for a man who became dehydrated while working 80 feet in the air on an Omaha grain bin.
The man was too sick to climb down a rickety ladder, his only way to safety, when Omaha Fire Department crews arrived on scene.
Firefighters used innovative thinking and their new drone program to deliver water and a sports drink to the stranded man.
"Called 911, we responded. With that degraded ladder that he was on, you know, we had to think 'How are we going to affect this kind of rescue?'" Captain Nick Lemek said.
The rescue highlights the capabilities of the department's drone program, which now includes four drones and 22 trained pilots.
"The big thing is, there's no standard protocol for figuring out what to do in that type of situation," Lemek said.
These unmanned aircraft provide crucial safety benefits for both the public and first responders by allowing crews to assess dangerous situations before sending personnel into harm's way.
"Firefighting and this kind of rescue stuff, it's inherently dangerous, you know, but this drone technology's able to make things safer for our firefighters," Lemek said.
The technology provides real-time video feeds of emergency scenes.
"We're able to actually give our incident commander, eyes on what's going on as it happens," Lemek said.
The Skydio X-10 drone, demonstrated during our interview, was purchased through a grant from King of Kings Church, which also funded training for the department's drone pilots.
"It really shows just how great the public-private partnership is between Omaha and the community," Lemek said.
A recently passed state law prohibits the fire department from purchasing foreign-made drones, specifically those manufactured in China. This restriction means the drones are approximately three-times more expensive; making community support and grant funding even more crucial.
The man stranded on the grain bin was eventually brought down safely.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
