Fire Marshal Joe Fretz (left) holds a drone while Fire Captain Nate Iden and firefighter Brent Fifer stand behind a new rescue boat acquired by the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

WARSAW — Firefighters with the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory have added a drone and an inflatable rescue boat to their arsenal of equipment.

Fire Chief Michael Wilson informed the fire territory board on Tuesday, Sept. 3, that they had taken possession of a new drone and boat.

He said the drone will be used for numerous purposes in several departments, including police.

The drone will be used for pre-emptive planning purposes as well as providing video from accidents, fires, post-storm damage and even help search for lost people at night with its infra-red camera.

Wilson said after Tuesday’s meeting that they will use the drone to capture photos when large buildings, such as hotels, are being built. The idea is to photograph each floor as it is constructed and then file those photos for future use if the building ever catches fire so personnel can understand the floor plan.

Wilson said the drone would be used when fighting fires involving large buildings with flat roofs so they can pinpoint the location of industrial-sized heating and cooling units are on the roof.

“I don’t want firefighters under a three-ton unit in case the roof collapses,” Wilson said.

The drone can also photograph damage to large buildings — a feature that would have been ideal when a hotel along US 30 sustained heavy wind damage earlier this year

In addition to video, the drone has an infra-red camera that can detect for bodies at night, Wilson said.

The building department and city engineer have also expressed an interest in using the drone, he said.

The drone cost about $4,800. The department took possession of it a few weeks ago and is waiting for FCC licensing to be secured before it can be used.

Interest in acquiring an inflatable rescue boat — something the department has never had — began more than a year ago when local firefighters who were helping with hurricane recovery efforts on the east coast saw one being used.

The Inmar rescue boat will give city emergency responders three boats to use in water rescue situations.

The boat has five air chambers that make it nearly impossible to sink, according to firefighter Brent Fifer.

It can hold more than 2,395 pounds but is light enough that four people can carry it, meaning they deploy it into a waterway without having to take it to a boat ramp.

“With all the lakes we have around here, It’s something we’ve needed for a long, long time,” Fifer said.

The 14-foot boat replaces a johnboat that has since been transferred to the parks department.

Cost of the new boat was about $9,800, Wilson said.