GRFD Standard Operating Guideline

Transcription

1 GRFD Standard Operating Guideline Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Reviewed Date: Reviewed By: Fire Chief Lehman SOG #: Date: Rev. Date: Fire Chief: John Lehman PURPOSE: To enhance firefighter and citizen safety by improving emergency response through the assessment and implementation of emerging technologies that have the ability to provide a video audio recording and streaming. Such tools can help facilitate increased situational awareness and incident command decisions at emergency scenes, in a training environment or during fire prevention efforts including inspections, pre planning and fire investigations. This guideline is not intended to create or enlarge the employee s or employer s civil liability in any way. It shall not be construed as a creation of a higher standard of safety or care in any evidentiary sense on thirdparty claims insofar as the employee s or employer s legal duty imposed by law. SCOPE: Applies to employees who utilize unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or the data gathered as part of their job duties. This policy is applied to all UAVs utilized by the GRFD, which may have the following capabilities: Photograph and Video Streaming/Recording Thermal Imaging Chemical Monitoring Deployment of Rescue Equipment RESPONSIBILITIES: All personnel who will use the UAV must be properly trained and have achieved technical proficiency in the utilization of the equipment prior to its use, with the exception of technical training and internal certification efforts. To the extent possible, trainings related to the UAV should include hands on scenario based training, including the examination of circumstances in which the UAV should or should not be placed into service. Pilots and crew members operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) will be trained and certified in the operation of the system. Command officers will receive additional training in the policies and procedures governing the use of the equipment as well as the laws and potential legal issues associated with their use including at a minimum, annual training on the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Training on how to protect the civil rights and liberties of those in the community and surrounding areas where a UAV may be deployed is vital to ensuring the use of the UAV complies with constitutional standards. 1

2 It is incumbent on each member operating an unmanned aerial device to take reasonable precautions to protect the privacy of the businesses and residents in the City of Grand Rapids and only utilize the data collected by UAV s in a manner that assists in increasing the safety of the organization or general public. Due consideration towards the privacy of individuals will be exercised during the decision to launch or not launch the UAV, however, minimizing imminent hazards to human life will take precedence. Privacy rights that may be affected include an individual s reasonable expectation of privacy in areas society recognizes as reasonable including the home and the curtilage around the home. Privacy rights may also exist in public areas where surveillance by traditional and non aerial means would be unlikely or unfeasible. The UAV is the property of the Grand Rapids Fire Department and shall not be used for personal entertainment or for any activity that will distract personnel from their duties. Unauthorized use of a UAV will result in strict accountability. Data gathered by personnel during the operation of the UAV is the property of the City of Grand Rapids Fire Department. Data shall be stored, retained or deleted only as authorized by this SOG. The responsibility for the retention of records shall the responsibility of the Fire Chief or his or her designee. DEFINITIONS: Video Audio Recording Device Any department issued device that is intended to capture video audio data including but not limited to cell phones, tablets, or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) An aircraft that is intended to navigate in the air without an onboard pilot. Also called Remote Piloted Aircraft, Robotic Aircraft or drone. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Pilot in Command A person exercising control over an unmanned aerial vehicle during flight and licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight Crewmember A pilot, visual observer, payload operator or other person assigned duties for a UAV for the purpose of flight. Public Safety Mission A critical incident which poses an imminent threat of loss of life, property, or public health safety, or welfare, including but not limited to, structure fires, hazardous materials incidents, human made or natural disasters, water rescue incidents, and fire investigation efforts. Public Safety Efforts Acts that contribute directly to improving public safety outcomes in a non emergency setting including preplanning inspections of hazardous materials sites or high risk structures and conducting training scenarios. Public safety efforts do not include surveillance of residential areas or tracking of individuals or groups of people. OPERATING GUIDELINES: Pre Flight UAV operations require a Certificate of Authorization (COA) from the Federal Aviation Administration. The COA will be kept on site during the operation of the UAV. UAVs will only be operated by personnel, both pilots and crew members, who have been trained and certified in the operation of the system. All agency personnel with UAV responsibilities, including 2

3 command officers, will be provided training in the laws, regulations, policies and procedures governing their use including proper decision making on when the use is allowed or disallowed. GRFD personnel may request UAV operation for a Public Safety Mission or to aid Public Safety Efforts. Other city departments, though the department head, may also request GRFD operation of a UAV for a Public Safety Mission. The request from other city departments are subject to the terms of GRFD Policy 216 and this SOG, requiring written acceptance of those terms by the other departments, including provisions relating to retention, storage, access to and sharing of data. Fire Departments that are party to the Kent County Mutual Aid Agreement may request GRFD operation of a UAV for a Public Safety Mission in accordance to the terms of that agreement. The request from these outside agencies is subject to the terms of GRFD Policy 216 and this SOG, requiring written acceptance of those terms by the other departments, including provisions relating to retention, storage, access to and sharing of data. Upon notification of a request for the UAV, the supervisor or designee will gather the facts and decide if a response is warranted. All flights will be approved by a GRFD supervisor (battalion chief rank or above) and must be for a legitimate Public Safety Mission or Public Safety Effort. Also, UAVs may be utilized in a non emergency setting to aid public safety efforts, with these flights at the discretion of the pilot in command and/or the UAV program manager. The decision to actually launch the UAV rests with the pilot in command and is contingent upon several factors including the ability of the team to operate within a secure perimeter, physical features of the area, obstructions to flight, terrain, and the weather. Other considerations include the safety of the UAV team and the structural integrity of the area being surveilled. Detailed documentation of the decision to launch or not launch will be kept in the incident or activity report in the department s records management system. For emergency use, a supervisor or pilot in command, acting in good faith and possessing specific and articulable facts leading to the conclusion that deployment of a UAV is necessary to abate an imminent threat of fire or another emergency on the property, is not required to obtain a warrant prior to flight. The means and scope of the use of the UAV must be reasonable under the totality of the circumstances. UAV use may continue after the fire has been extinguished for a reasonable amount of time thereafter if the UAV is reasonably necessary to aid in the prompt determination of a fire s origin to prevent recurrence, detention of continuing dangers, and immediate investigation to preserve evidence from intentional or accidental destruction. Factors relevant in determining whether a warrant should be obtained in these situations include, but are not limited to: the reason for the search and the scope of the search to be conducted, the number of prior entries by GRFD personnel, the time of day when the proposed search is to be made, the lapse of time since the fire or emergency, the continued use of the building, and the owner s efforts to secure the property against intruders. In non emergency UAV use, personnel shall obtain written consent from an individual with authority over the property or obtain the appropriate warrant required by law. 3

4 The conditions to deploy without a warrant shall be documented in the department s records management system. During Flight Proper communication with the Gerald R. Ford airport tower will take place. The UAV will be operated within line of sight of the incident, training area or fire inspection taking place within the City of Grand Rapids. The pilot in command will function as the team leader and the operator of the UAV and will be held ultimately responsible for the safe operation of the device. The observer will maintain visual observation of the UAV while it is in flight and alert the pilot in command of any conditions (obstructions, terrain, structures, air traffic, weather, etc.) which affect the safety of the flight. To accomplish this, the observer must remain in close proximity to the pilot in command to ensure instant relaying of information. UAV team members will comply with all policies, standard operating guidelines and flight checklists at all times unless an emergency situation dictates otherwise. Data Management Data gathered by personnel during the operation of a UAV is the property of the City of Grand Rapids Fire Department. Data shall be stored, retained or deleted only as authorized by this SOG. The responsibility for the retention of records shall that of the Fire Chief or his or her designee. All flights will be documented in the department s record management system and all flight time and locations shall be accounted for. The reason/purpose of the flight and name of the approving supervisor will also be documented. Data gathered by UAV may be in the form of live data streaming to the incident command post, video, or still photography. These capabilities may be enhanced with a zoom lens, thermal imaging camera or chemical monitoring capabilities, all of which are similar in nature to the capability already in use by the GRFD to assist with Public Safety Missions or Public Safety Efforts. Unless otherwise specified herein, data captured by a UAV will not be retained and will be destroyed upon the conclusion of UAV use or immediately thereafter. Data collected that is subject to use as evidence of a crime, part of an on going investigation, or required to be retained by law is to be retained subject to relevant governing policies and procedures, and is not subject to the data retention policies herein. Retention of data for fire investigation purposes shall be subject to GRFD SOG Fire Investigation. Data recorded and utilized to aid in the continuous improvement of departmental training shall be stored in accordance with other provisions of this SOG (see below). If a UAV flight is part of a training activity, and no public privacy rights are impacted by the use of the UAV, such data may be stored for the limited use as required by training. A training record must be generated and maintained. When data is generated by a UAV training activity conducted on publically accessible city 4

5 owned property or over the Grand River, such data may be retained in order to share with the public but only if no privacy rights or public safety concerns are impacted by the creation, retention and dissemination of the data collected. A training record must be generated and maintained. An authorized supervisor/administrator will audit flight documentation, incident activity reports, afteraction reports, data access records and UAV usage reports at regular intervals. An after action review, including evaluation of the effectiveness of the equipment as utilized during the training or incident, must be included in the department s records management system. Authorized GRFD staff will promptly review data gathered by the UAV. If retention of the data is necessary or beneficial to the performance of a legitimate, work related fire department function and authorized by this SOG, the data will be uploaded and stored on the fire department s shared drive and placed into a secure folder that may only be accessed by personnel granted access by the fire chief or his or her designee to perform legitimate work related functions. Access to data generated by a UAV shall be available only to GRFD staff and supervisors unless part of a criminal investigation or as otherwise required by law. An audit trail will be established to provide documentation of access to the stored data. Images will not be shared with other departments or agencies except as follows: limited sharing with other fire departments for training purposes; when subject to use as evidence of a crime; or as otherwise required by law. When another department or outside agency has requested the use of a UAV and such use has generated data that may impact privacy rights, the storage, retention, or deletion of such data is subject to the terms and conditions of this SOG. If storage and retention of data is authorized by this SOG, the requesting agency shall take possession of the data for its official use only upon written acceptance to follow the terms of this SOG. REFERENCES: GRFD Policy 216 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle GRFD SOG Fire Investigation FAA Part 107 City of Grand Rapids Administrative Policy Acquisition and Use Policy for Electronic Communications GRFD UAV Standard Work Checklists 5