Kansas Polytechnic Launches Fire and Hazmat Training

The best ways to use UAS in fire and emergency response activities will be taught in a new four-day UAS training course for firefighters and HAZMAT response personnel offered by Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus.

The flight training course will utilize K-State's industry-leading UAS technology. The first course will be Oct. 5-8 at Crisis City Training Center southwest of Salina. Qualified individuals can view details and register online at ksu.uas.com/fire.

"Working with Salina area firefighters and our partners at Crisis City Training Center, we have created a course that offers a one-of-a-kind UAS training in which we can train students on fire, hazmat, and search and research scenarios," said Kenton Dreiling, assistant UAS flight operations manager at K-State Polytechnic. "Students who take this course will understand how to best use an unmanned aircraft in a fire or hazmat situation with the overall mission to protect and save lives.

"Training will focus on search and rescue scenarios, night operations and structure fire reconnaissance. A highway accident scenario will be used to identify hazardous materials and practice coordination between multiple aircraft and crew. Also, a train derailment will demonstrate how to locate primary and secondary hazards while providing overwatch.The new course offering allows Kansas State Polytechnic to contribute to communities in meaningful ways and develop greater partnerships with fire departments, said Kurt Carraway, K-State Polytechnic UAS department head.

Since 2016, K-State's Polytechnic Campus has trained nearly 1,000 UAS students through noncredit courses, with 35% of those students from the public safety sector. The initial first responder-specific program was launched in 2018 with a UAS Law Enforcement Training course. Additionally, first responder scholarships were introduced in 2019 to support students enrolled in the sUAS Commercial Remote Pilot Training course.