HAMILTON — Three fire departments in Allegan County banded together this year to purchase a high-end drone that can be called upon for search-and-rescue, fire investigations and much more.

"We wanted to embrace technology," said Saugatuck Township Fire District Chief Greg Janik, "And we felt if we collaborated, we could get a better, superior product. We rely on each other to begin with, so it's really just another extension of working together. Why have three drones? Why not get together, build a drone team amongst the three departments and share it?"

The drone is a DJI-brand Matrice 300 and purchasing the drone plus outfitting it with a high-quality camera has cost a total of about $30,000 so far. But sharing the drone means the three departments get to split the bill, making it an affordable investment for each.

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Each fire department involved in the project — Saugatuck, Hamilton Fire Department and Graafschap Fire Department — has several Federal Aviation Administration-certified drone pilots who can be called upon to pilot the drone.

The fire chiefs intended to officially "launch" the drone program Aug. 1, but they have already been called to assist other agencies with the drone on three occasions in the past week.

The drone is outfitted with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera, or thermal camera, which detects heat.

"You could find somebody missing in the woods because this (camera) can see their heat imprint," said Janik.

The drone provides extremely high-resolution images. 

"They were testing it out at Graafschap, and they could read license plates a mile away at the Crown Motors parking lot, and they could read t-shirts of kids playing softball a mile to the north at the ballfield," said Chief Dave Haverdink of the Hamilton Fire Department.

The chiefs expect the camera to be of use in fire investigations. The Hamilton Fire Department covers a large part of the forested Allegan State Game Area and expects several forest fire calls every year. The drone will allow the department to quickly get a read on where the fire is.

For fires on large industrial properties the drone will provide a quick way to survey the property, find the origin of the fire and identify any people who need to be rescued.

For Saugatuck's fire department, on the lakeshore, rescues on the water and among the sand dunes will be aided by having eyes in the air.

Janik said the drone will allow for an immediate rescue response by the fire department, who would otherwise have to wait on the U.S. Coast Guard or the Michigan State Police to provide a helicopter for search-and-rescue. 

They can also fly the drone in rocky weather, for example winds up to 25 miles per hour, conditions which might ground a helicopter. 

The drone is stored at the Hamilton Fire Department. 

"It's great to work together as agencies," Janik said. "We're partners of one another. It's a very natural thing for us to do." 

— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.