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Superior Search and Rescue in Houghton will be able to purchase a new piece of high-tech equipment thanks to a grant from the Portage Health Auxiliary.
President of Superior Search and Rescue Chris Van Arsdale said, “We are grateful to the Portage Health Auxiliary for their support with this project. Having a drone will significantly help increase the area we can search filling the gap between our initial arrival on scene and the deployment of larger air assets such as Civil Air Patrol.”
The $4,000 grant will be used for a state-of-the–art dedicated Search and Rescue drone with thermal imaging capabilities.
This new drone will be able to be deployed in a matter of minutes upon arrival to the search area and can cover more ground at a faster rate than a search party can.
It will also come equipped with a thermal camera to detect heat signatures on the ground and has a loudspeaker attachment that can relay messages to injured parties.
The drone will also be able to search areas that are difficult to reach on foot allowing for searching without risking the safety of crew members.
They will also have the ability to get the most up to date aerial views in the matter of minutes thanks to drone mapping software.
The new equipment is expected to be in use in the next coming months and a pilot will be trained by the end of the summer.
The sponsor of the grant, Portage Health Auxiliary, is a volunteer agency that is funded from the proceeds of the The Guilded Rose Gift Shop located in the UP Health System – Portage Hospital. All the proceeds from the gift shop are used by the Auxiliary to support organizations in the area. We wish to thank all the volunteers at The Guilded Rose for their support with this grant.
Superior Search and Rescue of Houghton, Michigan, is a ground-based, volunteer 501(c)-3 organization assisting Houghton and Keweenaw County law enforcement agencies in finding missing persons. SSAR also provides communications and control support for local events.
