In late April 2014, a commercial fire in southern New York consumed a100-year-old town landmark. The building housed a family-owned business and the large number of combustibles such as furniture, upholstery, and a wooden elevator shaft turned the structure into an inferno. Tremendous heat and concerns about the structure collapsing forced firefighters to combat the blaze from exterior locations including the rooftop of the attached building.
Structural integrity remained a concern as the local fire department investigated the fire and representatives from the policyholder's insurance carrier arrived in response to the large loss. Early indications were that the origin of the blaze was an electrical box on the first floor, but because the top two stories of the five-story building had collapsed in on the structure, it was unsafe for anyone to enter.
Donan, a forensic investigation firm that has gained widespread recognition for its work with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, thought that drones could be used to document the fire scene. After reviewing images and Google Earth views of the structure, Donan's president and CEO, Lyle Donan, didn't think UAVs would be an appropriate fit.
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