Heavy duty drone to take gear to rescuers in Weber County

OGDEN — Deputies with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office are getting to try out a new drone that could transport heavy gear to rescue crews.

Lt. Mark Horton said the drone, which is the size of a mini-cooper, could carry more than 80 pounds of items, such as a stretcher, medical supplies, and climbing gear. The drone has a range of about six miles.

“if you’re carrying stokes baskets and wheel litters and EKGs and medical supplies, it’s going to slow your time down, especially going uphill,” Horton said. “And if this drone is carrying those supplies up, we’re thinking that response time is going to be significantly quicker.”

The drone is on loan from DJI for nine months, allowing deputies to try it out in summer, fall, and winter conditions. Horton said the camera company approached them with the idea, because of how much they’ve integrated drones into their operations in recent years.

“We just had it for a week or two. We’re still learning some of the functions of it and what it will do,” Horton said, adding that with a bit of practice: “Hopefully, we can then put it to good use here in upcoming months.”