Get your Part 107 federal drone license and volunteer for your local fire department or search and rescue. When the FD responds to structure fires they sometimes have to go up on the roof to cut an air hole. This allows oxygen into the building which helps prevent backdrafts. A FLIR equipped drone can help direct the hole cutter around hotspots on the roof. If your local fire department has a drone, it might not have the staff to be able to use it on calls.
back
1 comments
How involved is the license? I've flown racing quads and RC planes, so I think I have the hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness skills.
Is this something that would be saturated in the Bay Area? Does the SAR team provide the drone?
You'd need to schedule and take an exam. There are lots of resources online to help you study. I recommend the Youtube video from Tony and Chelsea Northrup.
I'm not sure how saturated it would be. My advice would be to contact the closest FD (or PD if you wanted to go the SAR route) and ask. If they say they're covered, ask if they know any other stations that could use a hand. There's bound to be a department that needs volunteers.
The FD should have an enterprise level DJI (or equivalent) with color and IR cameras but it will probably depend on how well funded the department is. SAR may be a different story as far as equipment but I don't know since that's not the route I pursued.