The Tulsa Fire Department is expanding its use of drones to improve emergency response and public safety. Fire Chief Michael Baker said the department has a long history with unmanned aerial vehicles and now holds an FAA 107 waiver, allowing trained firefighter pilots to operate drones beyond visual line of sight.

A new pilot program with Tulsa Innovation Labs, Oklahoma State University, local company AirWise and U.S. drone manufacturer Skydio is testing the ability to remotely launch drones. In one recent test, a drone launched from downtown was used to monitor a fire on North Phoenix Avenue.

“It’s kind of the next phase in UAV operations for the fire service,” Baker said. “It gives us the opportunity to get eyes on quickly, look for victims, [and] assess the situation.” The program wil

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