Gatlinburg launches drone program to help police, firefighters during emergencies

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — A new public safety aviation program is underway in Gatlinburg, using drones to help police and firefighters respond to emergencies while keeping visitors and residents safe.

On Friday, the City of Gatlinburg announced the new program, which uses three advanced drones that are dispatched to emergency calls and provide first responders with information and an aerial perspective before they reach the location. The drones, manufactured by Skydio, are operated from three launch sites located throughout the city.

Gatlinburg Fire Department Firefighter/Paramedic Ian Wedlock, who is also the program manager, coordinated the development and implementation of the program. He said this new program is an important advancement in how the City's public safety departments respond to emergencies.

"Our goal with this program is to get critical information into the hands of our first responders as quickly as possible," Wedlock said. "By establishing three launch locations throughout Gatlinburg, we have created a system that allows us to deploy these drones to provide real-time information to responding personnel. Thi...