I am the Drone Safety Officer at the University of Portsmouth.

Climate change is causing longer periods of drought in the UK and the summer of 2022 saw a record number of naturally occuring wildfires in England. In 2023 parts of the UK are still classified with 'drought' status and wildfires have the potential to pose a severe threat to people, properties and businesses.

My project aims to identify the role drone technology can play in the management of wildfires to help reduce their lethal impact. Many fire services are already using drones when tackling wildfires, but what are the most effective ways of using them? Canada, where wildfires are a massive problem, has integrated drone techology into its strategic plans for managing fires. By observing how drones are used in Canada, I aim to provide information that will benefit the UK Forestry Commission and fire services in their approach to tackling wildfires, looking at prevention and recovery, as well as response.

I have participated in projects both using and investigating the use of drones for disaster management, including post-disaster surveys, and search and rescue. I now want to investigate the use of drones for tackling wildfires.