A New Drone Will Make Treutlen EMA Operations Faster, Safer and More Efficient

The Treutlen County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) sees improved operations in the future following the addition of a drone to its toolbelt.

“Drones are becoming valuable tools for public safety because they improve emergency response, support search-and-rescue operations, reduce risks to first responders and provide cost-effective aerial assistance during disasters and emergencies,” said Treutlen EMA Director Justin McNure in a written statement.

The desire to add a drone to Treutlen’s arsenal of tools began following Hurricane Helene’s landfall in 2024. The storm generated over 100 cubic yards of debris and downed trees which made many roads undrivable, cutting the EMA off from many residents.

“We couldn’t check on the people at the end of those roads until, of course, we removed all the debris and things like that,” said McNure. “We didn’t want the citizens of Treutlen to feel helpless in a time of disaster like that again.”

Fortunately, Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) personnel brought drones of their own as they came to the area to assist in clean-up and recovery operations. Despite the damage, no one in Treutlen County was killed due to the storm. 

McNure approached both the Soperton City Council and the Treutlen County Board of Commissioners in 2025 about potentially purchasing a drone for the EMA. Both governing bodies agreed to pay half of the cost to purchase the drone.

During this time, the director considered three to four different quotes on drones. Eventually, the agency settled on a Skydio X10 Gen 2 model supplied by Frontier Precision. McNure declined to reveal the purchasing price.

According to manufacturer Skydio, the drone can fly up to 45 miles per hour with a 40 minute maximum flight time. The drone comes equipped with powerful VT300 cameras, allowing the EMA pilots use of thermal imaging.

The drone’s onboard AI systems make it easier to fly, allowing it to automatically avoid collisions with large objects. It can even be set to automatically track a person on the ground, which McNure said will be used to assist in finding missing residents.

The drone also comes equipped with speakers, spotlights and the ability to swap between frequency and cellular control, allowing for a greater deployment range.

According to McNure, the drone will be able to assist with search and rescue operations, firefighting, disaster management, improving office safety, traffic and accident management, crowd management, environmental and hazard detection, evidence collection and documentation, supporting rural areas and generally speeding up emergency response times. Since the drone was paid for by both city and county, it will be used for departments of both.

“Now that we have it, the amount of jobs we’re able to do with it is almost limitless,” said McNure.

Not just anyone can pick up the EMA’s new drone and fly it. Personnel are required to undergo specific training to receive their own drone pilot license.

“We have very, very thorough policies when it comes to our drones,” said McNure. “We’ve created our own policy. It’s pretty transparent, so anybody that’s going to ever have their hands on this drone will know the policies and procedures of it.”

The Treutlen County EMA currently has seven trained drone pilots on staff. The agency announced the completion of their training on May 20 before putting the drone to use the same day to assist with a wildland fire in the area.

“It was during the day, so I could turn the thermal on and pick out the hotspots, and tell the firemen exactly how to get to those hotspots in relation to where they were at,” said McNure. “So, we were basically able to mop up the fire before the Georgia Forestry even arrived on the scene.”