Limerick gets drones from GlobalMedic

By: Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Three instructors and two drones were sent to Limerick Fire Department for training sessions on Jan. 11, 12 and 13 by GlobalMedic, which Limerick Township council discussed at their meeting on Feb. 18 (as they did not have a meeting in January). The drones will be used for training purposes and for search and rescue. CAO Victoria Tisdale and Rahul Singh, founder and executive director of GlobalMedic, comment on these new drones for Limerick to The Bancroft Times.

Back on Jan. 11, 12, and 13, Global Medic sent three instructors and two drones to the Limerick Fire Department and trained Tisdale, Maxwell, and firefighters Pascal Nobert and Eric Chandler on their use. They are now licenced and certified to operate them. One will be used for training purposes will the other will be utilized for search and rescue operations going forward. The latter drone has thermal and infrared sensors, speaker, spotlight, mapping capabilities, and deicing blades for winter flying operations. The township proudly proclaimed that these drones are another tool in their toolbox for emergencies, whether it's a housefire, wildland fire, or search and rescue.

A registered Canadian charity, Global Medic, also known at the David McAntony Gibson Foundation, provides people affected by poverty, disaster and/or conflict with humanitarian aid, both domestically and internationally. It was founded by Toronto paramedic Rahul Singh 28 years ago, in honour of his friend who passed, who always sought to help out those in need anywhere. Their guiding principle, getting the right aid to the right people at the right time, propels their mission to get maximum aid impact with remarkable operational efficiency. For more information, go to www.globalmedic.ca.

Mayor Kim Carson said in her Mayor's report at the Feb. 18 meeting that she had the honour of attending the training session for the new drones.

“What a great addition to our fire department! Congratulations to Greg and his fire team for not only securing [two] drones, but also all the training. We will be able to find things like fire, animals, people from the air now!” she says.

Tisdale told The Bancroft Times on Feb. 23 that the GlobalMedic drone training sessions were excellent, and the three instructors were very knowledgeable and provided excellent training.

“Our [Fire Prevention Officer], Cindy Fuerth, contacted Global Medic about their fire skids in 2024, and from there we have had several conversations about their products and the needs of our community, and the rest is history.   The drones are fantastic, and will be used in Limerick Township for search and rescue, community emergency response team, and for photographic documents on house fires for insurance related purposes.   We have not had to use it yet since we received it last month. We are very excited to continue our working relationship with GlobalMedic.   They are a fantastic company that does a lot of good around the globe, and we are proud to be working with them,” she says.

Singh confirmed to The Bancroft Times on Feb. 23 that GlobalMedic donated two drones to Limerick fire department.

“One of the drones is a Matrice 4TD which has thermal capabilities. It is designed to support local search and rescue efforts, identify and track wildfires, support structural fire response, track flooding, provide situational awareness and other response related supports. It is a tremendous drone that can fly is austere conditions. We also gave a much smaller drone so their pilots could practice their manoeuvres and handling and fly through vehicles and tight spaces.

The idea is to provide equipment and training to build their capacity. We have supported nine groups in the last two years with drones and want the teams to be interoperable. The idea is a pilot from Limerick can deploy with us or elsewhere to support a disaster response or we can bring in other pilots to fly Limerick's equipment and support them. The training went well. The local responders were keen to learn and eager to deploy their new gear. This is part of the Ontario Corps program funded by the province,” he says. “We are proud to be a partner and are really proud to be able to boost capacity across the province.”