---
title: "Could This Firefighting Drone Be the Wave of the Future?"
description: "Aerones Ltd. believes they would be able to reach parts of high-rise buildings that conventional ladder trucks fall short of."
date: "2017-06-14"
modified: "2017-06-14"
authors:
  - name: "Max Goldberg"
    job_title: "Associate Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/max-goldberg"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/11522/could-this-firefighting-drone-be-the-wave-of-the-future"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Drones"
  - "emergency"
  - "emergency services"
  - "fire department"
---

# Could This Firefighting Drone Be the Wave of the Future?

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/firefightingdrone-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

In theory, a fire-fighting drone is a fantastic idea. A drone could reach places a ladder can't, and it could adjust angles quicker than a conventional fire truck. Fortunately, a Latvian company called [Aerones Ltd.](<https://www.aerones.com/eng/news/?text_id=10>) is developing a firefighting drone that could one day fight high-rise fires.

However, the video makes it quite clear this is still a lot of work to be done. Diving into the drone's specifications, we see that drone weighs 121 pounds, and is able to lift 319 pounds. Although that may seem like a lot, lifting 319 pounds can be fairly limiting when you are considering the drone is attached to a hose filled with water. Every foot of hose can weigh a significant amount; for example, 100 feet of charged 5-inch hose [weighs 944 pounds](<https://www.firerescue1.com/fire-products/tools/hoses/articles/1313650-LDH-Get-big-water-to-big-fire/>).

With this in mind, the advertised flight height of 984 to 1,312 feet seems a little out of whack. In order to achieve an operational flight height of 984 feet, the drone would be limited to a hose less than one inch. If the drone were to be attached to a conventional two-and-a-half-inch hand line, the lifting power would have to handle[ 2,086 pounds](<https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-149/issue-12/features/the-2-1-2-inch-handline.html>) at 984 feet.

All this being said, the drone is still under development, so we could see improved performance in the future. (Aerones Ltd has already begun transitioning from a battery-powered drone to developing a drone with a power cable for continued operation.) Long story short, this drone could someday be a much-needed tool in the arsenal for fighting tricky high-rise fires.

## Author
Before working at *The Drive*, Max Goldberg raced the streets of Westchester in an ambulance as a licensed Emergency Medical Technician. He has boundless enthusiasm.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/maxems>)