Drone technology has direct potential to save lives when used in public safety – but public safety agencies need the drone industry’s help to get them implemented.

Now, the DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance, an advocacy and resource group for the public safety sector, and the Commercial Drone Alliance have announced a partnership to help get public safety departments the resources they need.

“The effort will build bridges between manufacturers, solutions providers, industry, and public safety UAS technology users to help save lives,” says a joint press release.  Those bridges are increasingly important.  A recent study published by DRONERESPONDERS points out that while adoption of drone technology for fire, police, search and rescue, and disaster response has increased dramatically; needs for training, certification, and other operational tools has also increased.

Stay tuned for our upcoming interview with Christopher Todd, Executive Director of Airborne International Response Team (AIRT®) about the work that AIRT and DRONERESPONDERS are doing around the world to save lives with drones.

The following is a DRONERESPONDERS and Commercial Drone Alliance press release.

WASHINGTON D.C. – The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance – a 501(c)3 non-profit program of AIRT, Inc. – and the Commercial Drone Alliance, an independent 501(c)6 organization working to collectively merge policy with innovation in the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry – today announced a partnership to assist public safety UAS programs in implementing UAS technologies to yield lifesaving benefits.

The partnership between the Commercial Drone Alliance and DRONERESPONDERS will increase dialogue and establish relations between the UAS industry and first responders who are embracing unmanned systems to help lifesaving missions and protect property. According to recent research from DRONERESPONDERS, a majority of public safety agencies are either already operating drones or working on implementing a UAS program.

“We are seeing incredible interest in using drones for public safety at the local, state, and federal levels,” said Lisa Ellman, Executive Director for the Commercial Drone Alliance. “Our partnership with DRONERESPONDERS – theworld’s fastest growing non-profit program supporting public safety UAS – will serve to strengthen the ecosystem surrounding how first responders work with industry to deploy drones in the national airspace system.”

Commercial Drone Alliance members include several of the most prominent technology firms in the U.S. and DRONERESPONDERS will explore ways to leverage this expertise to strengthen public safety’s use of drones and UAS related technology.

“The Commercial Drone Alliance is home to an amazing roster of companies symbolizing America’s technologicalmight,” said Chief Charles Werner (ret.), Director of DRONERESPONDERS. “We welcome the opportunity to work with their members to help deliver cutting-edge UAS-related solutions that benefit public safety agencies across the U.S. and around the world.”

The Commercial Drone Alliance and DRONERESPONDERS will collaborate on various initiatives designed to bring lifesaving UAS solutions and related technologies to public safety end users. Part of their efforts will focus

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