Some of you guys might have heard that a couple of days ago, firefighters in San Bernardino County ran into some issues with drones who were apparently in their way, thus forcing the firefighters to ground their planes and helicopters in the process. Now thanks to a new bill that has been introduced, firefighters can finally do something about these pesky drones.
The new bill basically gives any emergency personnel the ability to damage an unmanned aircraft, such as a drone, during the course of a firefight, air ambulance, or during search and rescue operations. Basically if you have a drone and you’re in their way, they have the right to take your drone down and you can’t hold them liable for it.
In fact to discourage drone users from trying to get footage during such situations, the bill will also levy a fine and potential jail time against these users for potentially inhibiting an emergency response. Like we said before, the recent firefight at San Bernardino County wasn’t the first time that drones have hinder rescue attempts.
We doubt it will also be the last, but hopefully with the new bill introduced, drone users will now think twice about getting in the way, lest they want their drone destroyed and get slapped with a fine and potential jail time in the process.