NPS-DDP.org Mission is to help keep Search & Rescue ( SAR) / Public Safety & Communities Safer through Drone Technology

These are just a few ways Drone programs help departments & communities

Better situational awareness Fast deployment
Fleeing suspects, missing persons / Thermal search
Crime investigations / S.W.A.T
Tactical / bomb & warrant operations
Disaster recovery / Hazmat issues
Loss of life accident reconstruction
Mapping of soft target facilities, schools, hospitals, Large Complex
Special events crowd coverage
Keeps officers out of harm's way

Thank you for standing with us and supporting those who give so much.

The Drone Donation Request

Mill Creek Fire & Rescue is a small rural department with a lot of wooden area as well as having the Newport River in our backyard. We mutual aid with Newport, Beaufort as well as Harlowe, which is another rural department in a large territory. Our department would benefit from having a drone for various reasons, primarily to enhance situational awareness, improve safety by allowing for aerial surveillance of situations that could be dangerous for our fire fighters on the ground, and to assist in operations like search and rescue. Due to our location near Croatan National Forest, we encounter numerous wild fires, for which this drone would be helpful as well as there aren't a lot of trails to access the forest and an aerial view would be beneficial before sending in ground troops to fight a wild fire or to locate missing hikers or lost pets.

There was a huge fire back in 2023, The Great Lakes Fire in the Croatan National Forest, which spread flames and smoke along a roadway south of New Bern on April 21, 2023, after wind and dry conditions resulted in rapid growth. It was hard to put out as there were several hot spots. 32,400 acres burned and it took around 200 firefighters. A drone could have easily spotted these hotspots, so teams could move in the right areas and distinguish the fire more rapidly.

We also are located in the beautiful Crystal coast, so we are prone to hurricanes. In 2018, a major hurricane Florence, caused a lot of damage due to flooding and a drone would have been beneficial to get a view of some areas that we couldn't access via ground or boat.

Another major event where a drone would have been beneficial was a downed aircraft that went missing off our coast in early 2022, carrying 4 adults and 4 teenagers returning from a hunting trip. It took rescuers 4 days to be able to locate any debris and later bodies/ parts. This was a sad day for our community as the people on board were very well known and our kids went to school together.

Despite some bigger city’s around, Carteret County only has 2 stations that own drones, one of them being the Sheriff’s office and one being Emerald Isle Fire department. This is because there are not a lot of operators with licensing around that attend frequent training. It is up and coming, but like any rural area, it is slow to develop.

As far as funding is concerned, volunteer departments rely on their community, fundraisers, and grants to fund equipment and building supplies, so with us being so small, there is no funding for this type of equipment, so reaching out for a grant is our best bet and we hope you all agree.

Please reach out to me with any questions you may have. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Mill Creek Volunteer FIRE and EMS

By National Public Safety Drone Donation Program

Mill Creek Volunteer FIRE and EMS

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Team Members