Warren, Michigan did not test the waters. When the city decided to launch a Drone as First Responder program, it built one that covers both police and fire response simultaneously, funded by a millage voters passed in November, and it went fully operational on March 5. It is the first program of its kind in the state, as reported by Michigan Public.
That matters more than a typical launch announcement.
Six Drones, Two Departments, One City
Warren is Michigan’s third-largest city, a dense Macomb County suburb of 140,000 people sitting directly north of Detroit. Its police and fire departments share many of the same 911 calls, which made building a joint DFR program the obvious move.
The result is a fleet of Skydio X10 drones launching from six fixed locations: the city’s five fire stations plus the Christopher M. Wouters Warren Police Headquarters. That coverage map was deliberate. Every neighborhood in the city falls within reach.
“This is a real-time intelligence program that we’re using to leverage a lot of different capabilities for our first responders on the road to respond more efficiently, faster and safer to things that are happening in real time,” said Warren Police Lieutenant Brandon Roy…