The Missoula Fire Department, in conjunction with the Montana State Regional Hazmat Response Teams, utilizes Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) for the purpose of aerial observation, information gathering, and emergency operations management with the ability to perform additional tasks as permitted by the Federal Aviation Administration and governed by local, state and federal rules and regulations. The use of small unmanned aircraft systems to support fire department operations has become widely accepted as a low-cost tool to enhance situational awareness on emergency scenes.
For the Fire Department’s transparency in practice and use of small unmanned aircraft systems, the complete policy is available for public view as well as Federal Aviation Administration's Certificate of Waiver or Authorization.