When thick smoke obscures visibility, it locks onto the vital signs of trapped people with thermal imaging lenses; when high-rise fires pose an emergency, it hovers precisely 100 meters above to break windows and drop fire-extinguishing bombs; when mountain forest fires spread, it shuttles through the fire zone to build firebreaks — today’s fire-fighting drones are no longer just simple “flying cameras,” but “super rescuers” integrating AI, 5G, and IoT technologies. From urban buildings to remote mountain forests, from daily hidden danger inspections to life-or-death emergency rescues, this “low-altitude revolution” is quietly reshaping the modern fire-fighting system, making rescue more intelligent, safer, and more efficient.

I. Technological Evolution: The Versatile Capabilities of Fire-Fighting Drones

1. Reconnaissance and Modeling: Piercing “Clairvoyant Vision”

• Fire Scene Perspective and Precision Positioning: Drones equipped with thermal imagers and LiDAR can easily penetrate thick smoke and darkness, identifying hidden fire sources, locking onto the body temperature signals of trapped people, and generating real-time 3D digital maps of fire scenes. For example, Jingdezhen Fire and Rescue Brigade has built “digital twin” models for ancient building complexes in advance. In the event of a fire, drones can match the models in seconds to plan rescue routes, preventing firefighters from getting lost in complex buildings.
• AI Early Warning and Rapid Response: Drones of the Shanghai Fengxian Fire and Rescue Brigade have achieved “intelligent autonomous early warning” — AI algorithms automatically identify early smoke, enabling takeoff within 25 seconds of receiving an alarm and transmitting panoramic fire scene data within 3 minutes. This increases disaster assessment efficiency by 300% compared to traditional methods, seizing crucial opportunities for the “golden rescue time.”

2. Fire Suppression and Rescue: Assault Weapons Targeting Critical Situations

• Precision Firefighting for Tough Challenges: Addressing the pain points of high-rise fires — “hard to approach and difficult to extinguish” — the “Tianlong-1” drone developed by Northwestern Polytechnical University can accurately break windows and drop fire-extinguishing bombs within 15 meters, directly targeting indoor fires. For forest fires, the “Tianlei-1” drone covers 50 square meters per operation, achieving integrated “reconnaissance-positioning-firefighting” and reducing the risk of firefighters facing the fire directly.
• Material Delivery to Convey Vitality: Jingdezhen Fire’s “aerial cargo” drones can lift up to 100 kilograms of materials, transporting “life express” such as first-aid kits, respirators, and drinking water to trapped people through dangerous areas. Especially in scenarios where roads are blocked and personnel cannot approach, they become the “lifeline” connecting the outside world with the trapped.

3. Communication and Collaboration: Aerial Base Stations Ensuring Command

• Emergency Communication Without Interruption: Disaster scenes are often accompanied by communication outages. Drones of Jinhua Fire and Rescue are equipped with Mesh ad-hoc network devices, quickly establishing temporary communication networks covering a 5-kilometer radius to maintain real-time communication between frontline firefighters and the command center, ensuring precise transmission of instructions.
• Multi-Drone Collaboration for 3D Operations: Jiujiang Fire and Rescue has built a drone swarm system that enables multiple drones to collaborate — some conduct fire reconnaissance, some transport materials, and others act as communication relays. This forms a 3D operational network of “air + ground,” significantly improving the efficiency of handling complex disasters.

II. Diverse Scenarios: The Cross-Border Expansion of Fire-Fighting Drones

1. Urban Safety: Invisible Guardians of “Urban Vitality”

• Daily Inspections to Prevent Hazards: Yiwu Fire and Rescue uses drones for regular inspections of industrial parks and residential areas. AI recognition algorithms automatically identify hidden dangers such as “occupation of fire lanes, illegal construction, and lack of fire-fighting facilities,” increasing law enforcement efficiency by 80% and achieving “early detection and rectification of hazards.”
• High-Rise Rescue Solving Difficulties: Faced with the dilemma of high-rise fires — “aerial ladders can’t reach, and personnel can’t enter” — drones of Jiangsu Fire and Rescue cooperate with ground robots. Drones first fly into thick smoke to locate trapped people and deliver comfort instructions via loudspeakers, while ground robots simultaneously open escape routes, reducing rescue time by 70%.

2. Forests and Mountainous Areas: Rescue Pioneers Breaking Through “Uninhabited Zones”

• Forest Fire Prevention and Proactive Defense: In forest fire prevention, drones can carry fire extinguishers for low-altitude spraying to quickly build firebreaks. Meanwhile, thermal imaging technology accurately monitors fire rekindling points, preventing “resurgence.” In the mountainous areas of Jingdezhen, the efficiency of drones in searching for lost people is 5 times higher than traditional ground searches.
• Tidal Flat Rescue Racing Against Time: Personnel trapping accidents often occur in the coastal tidal flats of Yancheng. With fast-rising tides and complex terrain, traditional rescue is prone to delays. Fire-fighting drones can locate trapped people within 1 minute and guide speedboats to precise rescue via lights, successfully avoiding the danger of “tides arriving before rescuing people” multiple times.

3. Cultural Heritage Protection: Technological Power Safeguarding Millennia-old Civilization

Most ancient buildings in Jingdezhen’s Taoyangli Historical District are brick-wood structures, posing high fire-fighting difficulties. Fire-fighting drones establish millimeter-level precision 3D models through laser scanning, avoiding damage to ancient buildings from manual inspections while marking the locations of fire-fighting water sources and evacuation routes in the models. This provides precise data support for fire prevention and emergency response, adding a “technological protective shield” to the cultural heritage of the millennium-old porcelain capital.

4. Chemical Industry and Hazardous Materials: Unmanned Pioneers Facing High Risks

In chemical park fires and hazardous material leakage accidents, toxic gases and explosion risks are extremely high, making direct entry by firefighters prone to casualties. Drones can remotely carry gas detection equipment to real-time monitor the type and concentration of leaked substances, and generate 3D models of accident scenes. This helps commanders formulate disposal plans in safe areas, achieving “efficient disposal without human risk.”

III. Future Trends: How Fire-Fighting Drones Will Reshape the Fire-Fighting Ecosystem?

1. Full Automation: From “Assistance” to “Autonomous Decision-Making”

In the future, AI-driven fire-fighting drones will achieve deeper autonomy — upon receiving an alarm, they can automatically plan flight routes, identify fire types, select fire-fighting methods, and even dynamically adjust rescue plans based on changes in the fire scene. Currently, drones of the Shanghai Fengxian Fire and Rescue Brigade already have the ability to “automatically match rescue plans,” and this technology will further mature in the future, making drones “independent rescue units capable of operating alone.”

2. Integration into Low-Altitude Economy: Building a “5-Minute Fire Response Circle”

With the development of the low-altitude economy, fire-fighting drones will be deeply linked with smart city systems — multiple drone takeoff and landing points will be deployed in cities. In the event of a fire, the nearest drone can reach the scene within 5 minutes, realizing “dispatched immediately upon alarm and disposed of upon arrival.” Jingdezhen plans to add 22 high-end fire-fighting drones to build a city-wide “low-altitude rescue matrix,” making “minute-level response” a reality.

3. Global Collaboration: Opening Up Cross-Border Rescue Channels

Large long-endurance fire-fighting drones will play a role in cross-border rescue. For example, the 2-ton eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft developed by Peak Aviation has completed a 150-kilometer sea transportation test flight. In the future, such equipment can carry a large amount of rescue materials to participate in major disaster rescues such as earthquakes and tsunamis across national borders, making fire-fighting drones an important part of the “global rescue network.”

From “eyes piercing through smoke” to “assault vanguards targeting dangers,” every technological breakthrough of fire-fighting drones is making rescue farther from danger and closer to life. This “low-altitude revolution” not only changes the way of fire rescue but also redefines the boundary of “safety” — in the future, with continuous technological evolution, fire-fighting drones will become the core force of the modern fire-fighting system, safeguarding the lives and property of more people.

Wing Start Low-Altitude · CAAC Drone Pilot License Training: Small/Medium-Sized + Multi-Rotor Drones/Vertical Takeoff and Landing Fixed-Wing Drones + Visual Line of Sight/Beyond Visual Line of Sight/Instructor

As a high-tech comprehensive drone application enterprise specializing in drone R&D, production, sales, industry technical services, and drone training, Wing Start Low-Altitude is committed to promoting the collection and application of industrial big data through drone technology, and driving the reform of production tools and methods.

With the corporate mission of “letting drone technology create tangible value,” Wing Start Low-Altitude continuously deepens the integration of production and education and technological innovation; it also actively promotes the application and development of drones in various industries. In the future, we will build a national drone service collaboration network, train 10,000 professional pilots, strive to become the most trusted enabling partner in the low-altitude economy field, and continuously enhance the core competitiveness of the enterprise.

The era of the low-altitude economy has arrived — only those with a CAAC license can seize the dividends of industry transformation first. Your next career opportunity may be 300 meters above the ground.