BI drone program gets off the ground

There’s nothing drone about the use of drones taking off on Bainbridge Island. On the contrary, some might consider it ground-breaking.

Bainbridge Prepares launched six drone events in 2024, and shared them with the public on its website last month. Bainbridge Prepares is a community-based, volunteer-staffed program.

“It’s neighbors helping neighbors,” said Rakesh Bharania, chief drone pilot for BP. That’s rare because most similar programs are run by first responders. “We are residents of Bainbridge Island flying these missions. It’s a novel operation—a pioneer for rural communities.”

It’s website says the need for BI’s first responders to have access to drones was evident after the grounding of the state ferry Walla Walla in April of 2023. They said some eyes in the sky would have been helpful in understanding the entire situation.

“That was the ‘a-ha’ moment for us,” Bharania said.

The city’s Emergency Management coordinator, and BI fire and police worked with BP’s Technology Operations team to develop an all-volunteer response team of BI drone pilots.

The four have been trained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Incident Command System. They can respond to fires, search and rescue operations, hazardous materials incidents and similar emergencies. Some of the drones have specialty payloads, including thermal vision, spotlights and the ability to drop things like water flotation devices.

During a major disaster, they can do damage assessment surveys, ensure roads and waterways are safe for transit and more. They also can fly during community events to help with safety and also gather promotional footage for nonprofits.

Grants provided by the Rotary Club of BI and the BI Community Foundation allowed BP to purchase an advanced capability drone. It has a higher-resolution thermal camera, a laser range finder to measure distance to objects on the ground and extended flight-time capability. It can fly day or night in winds and bad weather that BP’s existing drones cannot. Along with that, next year the program plans to train more with the fire and police departments. Under an agreement with the city, the BP drones won’t be working on criminal law enforcement cases. Bharania said BIPD can ask Poulsbo police for help with their drones if that’s needed.

BP is looking for more Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 drone pilots and other volunteers. For details email techops@bainbridgeprepares.org

Becoming a pilot

Bharania had been involved in technology, public safety and humanitarian efforts for 30 years when he moved to BI from California in 2021. He had not flown drones before, but has always “gravitated to emerging technology to help the public,” he said. “It’s a passion of mine.”

He explained that those who fly drones for recreation don’t have to get a pilot’s license. But since he wanted to do it to help emergency services he had to get one through the Federal Aviation Administration. He said he used to fly small airplanes so the knowledge needed is similar. While there are schools, he said the training also is available online. He said it takes about 30 hours or so to study for the exam. Students learn about flight airspace, how to read an aviation map, weather, charts and more—“the same as pilots of regular aircraft.”

Bharania said he also took Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Command training so he could speak the same language as first responders in a disaster.

He said the knowledge is invaluable because BI could become isolated in a disaster. If Agate Bridge was destroyed, for example, drones could be used to bring in vital medical supplies as there are cargo drones that can carry 55 pounds of payload. The drones BP has now can carry just 1 1/2 pounds, but that’s enough to take a small radio to someone lost in the woods or stranded on a cliff.

Bharania said drones are easy to fly. “It’s not like ten years ago when they were unstable and you had to manipulate the controls constantly.”

BP drone events in 2024

•Water Rescue, March 25. Supported BIFD for a vessel in distress with three people and a dog. The drone was used to ensure scene safety and was equipped with a floatation aid should that have been necessary. “It was an airborne lifeguard role,” Bharania said.

•Structure Fire Investigation, April 17. BIFD asked the team to support the investigation of a house fire that occurred the previous day. Due to extensive damage, investigators could not access certain parts of the roof and wanted drone flights to gather information about how the fire started and spread. Bharania said he is especially proud of that effort. Pilots flew drones under the roofline and firefighters wearing basically virtual reality goggles got a “perspective of what happened that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

•Rotary Auction, July 2-5. Flights provided traffic congestion awareness to BIPD.

•Grand Old 4th of July Parade, July 4. Flights were flown to support BIFD’s situational awareness for the parade in Winslow, including identifying the least-crowded routes into and out of the parade area for ground emergency response vehicles and providing location support to ground medical teams that might have needed.

•Arms Around Bainbridge, Aug. 10. The team provided overhead awareness and safety information for an open-water charity swim around BI. The team was further able to practice coordinated operations between drones and vessels on the water.

•Bloedel Reserve Wildland Firefighting Training, Sept. 5. The team practiced an air/ground response to a wildland fire. Imagery was captured for BIFD training purposes, and the team was able to practice the use of a thermal-equipped drone. The drones were used during the fire as well as during the post-exercise mop-up to ensure there were no lingering hotspots.

A BP drone monitors a controlled burn by the BI fire department.

A BP drone monitors a controlled burn by the BI fire department.

Bainbridge Prepares courtesy photos
Drones from the Bainbridge Prepares team supplied aerial photos of a water rescue early last year.

Bainbridge Prepares courtesy photos Drones from the Bainbridge Prepares team supplied aerial photos of a water rescue early last year.

Bainbridge Prepares drone pilots supplied photos of a controlled burn in 2024.

Bainbridge Prepares drone pilots supplied photos of a controlled burn in 2024.