96-year-old woman pulled from burning apartment after drone spots heavy flames
EULESS, Texas - A high-tech drone operation between police and fire departments is being credited with saving the life of an elderly woman during an apartment fire Wednesday morning.
New drone program helps save life
What we know:
Euless firefighters were dispatched to an apartment complex in the 1200 block of El Camino Real around 1 a.m. Wednesday. A drone was automatically launched from a nearby fire station and arrived on the scene before ground crews.
The drone's camera captured heavy fire breaking through the roof. Based on that aerial footage, the responding fire chief immediately called for a second alarm and requested mutual aid from surrounding cities.
When crews arrived, a bystander reported that a 96-year-old woman was trapped inside. Because the drone provided an early look at the fire's scale, the chief knew additional backup was already on the way, allowing the initial teams to prioritize the rescue.
Firefighters entered through a window and pulled the woman to safety. She was transported to a nearby hospital for a hand burn and is expected to recover.
The building was gutted as crews were forced to fight the flames from the exterior. While the number of residents displaced is unknown, the Red Cross is working with apartment management to relocate them.
Dig deeper:
The joint police and fire drone program is only a few months old. The aircraft are housed at two fire stations and can be launched by dispatchers or trained officers.
What they're saying:
"It was a big, big help," Chief Chance Bennett said.
What we don't know:
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. While the woman is expected to recover, the exact severity of her hand injury has not been released.