East Hampton Village Lifeguards Deploy Drone to Assist

Village of East Hampton lifeguards have begun using drones as their new eye in the sky to help rescue swimmers in distress and spot hazards that may emerge in the Atlantic Ocean.

Drew Smith, East Hampton’s head lifeguard, and Lee Bertrand, the village’s assistant beach manager, both recently completed the Unmanned Aircraft General test and the Federal Aviation Administration certified them to fly drones to aid lifeguards by producing an aerial view of the ocean.

“It’s a great idea because of the amount of time you’re saving,” Mayor Jerry Larsen said at the June 16 village board meeting. “I mean, in the old days before we had drones we’d call in a Suffolk County police helicopter to help out to find a missing swimmer. That would take 20 minutes for a helicopter to arrive. But with a drone, it would take 30 seconds to get that thing up in the air. And I don’t know how long it takes somebody once they’re exhausted to drown.”

Smith said that a drowning person is more difficult to see at night and to mitigate this problem, the drone has infrared sensors to detect someone that may be submerged for a short period of time. He added that the drones can fly across several beaches and that there will be a supply of extra batteries so the drone can stay up for longer.

Officials at beaches across Long Island have increasingly begun using drones to spot sharks amid an increase in local sightings and bites. While a drone can only spot a potential issue, Smith said lifeguards can speak with a person who may be in need of help through the drone while lifeguards are dispatched.

“The drone has the ability to fly in small-level gale force winds so we can fly it in most conditions that would call for drone or aerial assistance,” Smith said. “So it is a really good piece of machinery and resource for us down at the beach.”