Drone delivery boxes could help save lives

Emergency workers say clearly marked address labels on mailboxes are a problem in every single county in Tennessee.

By Kyle Grainger | Published: Feb. 9, 2023 at 6:03 PM EST | Source: wvlt.tv

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoUxnBm-1pQ?wmode=opaque]

KINGSTON, Tenn. (WVLT) - Seconds count in an emergency, and in some cases, GPS isn’t the best way to help first responders find a victim.

Now, a new company is testing a product used for drone package deliveries to help emergency responders.

Emergency Services worker David Schroder said he encounters mailboxes without clear numbers daily. He said that makes it difficult for first responders to know where the emergency is.

“It can become very stressful, especially when you’ve got a call when it’s a child or somebody in respiratory distress and it sounds like it could be urgent and you’re going back and forth trying to find the address,” said Schroder. “Help us help you. It’s pretty simple. You know, a lot of these addresses a lot of people don’t look at an address on their mailbox as being something for anything other than mail delivery.”

He’s been responding to calls for 25 years and said the number situation is even worse at night. He said while the post office delivers your mail daily, first responders may not be on your street as often. So clearly marked labels help when GPS fails.

A company called Arrive (formerly Dronedek) could be the answer. [Arrive’s smart mailbox] was designed to be the delivery portal for packages from drones. Your packages stay locked inside and out of the rain.

CEO Dan O’Toole said an alert system on the Dronedek can flight emergency lights so first responders know where the call came from.

“You might see a firetruck in an ambulance running in circles. They can’t identify a fire an address. You know, time is life. How can we get there quicker and save lives in in bringing all the benefits in that this is a big one that we’re doing here at Dronedek,” said O’Toole

O’Toole said he’s looked at three different ways to cover the cost of the Dronedek once it starts to roll out. For EMS workers like Schroder, he hoped people will look at these new ways to get help in an emergency.

“When you’re going down and you’re trying to find this address, it’ll take a lot of the guesswork out because you’ll see the lighting system emergency lighting system illuminate advising ems please fire which address is going to be the correct address you need to go to,” said Schroder.

Dronedek is designed to be a drone delivery service and could help first responders looking for your home during an emergency. (Dronedek)