As strange aircraft sightings continue across , New Jersey  , and the , Philadelphia , suburbs, Garden State fire officials are presentation nearby fire departments on how to manage the probable chugging of an autonomous plane.
Next year, the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety  released a list of safety rules for the situation to fire sections across the state as the public outcry over the slew of described drone sightings in the area began to take shape.
Larry Fox, assistant commander of the , Mount Laurel Fire Department, said Monday that his office received the call online through the fire protection team’s risk task force on , Dec. 12.
There haven’t been any confirmed reports of significant aircraft crashes in the position, but that doesn’t mean officials aren’t warning fireplace crews about the prospect.
The guidelines for fire crews include no approaching a fallen aircraft, according to Fox. Crews were advised to listen wearing protective equipment, set up a security boundary of more than 300 feet, and call a host of first responders quickly, Fox said. That includes local police, hazmat crews, the bomb squad, and the , FBI.
According to Fox, officials also advised fire departments to warn crews to be wary of wreckage that might contain hazardous materials.
The New Jersey Division of Fire Safety , did not return requests for comment. How many fire departments received the guidelines was not known.
Fox said that this type of direction was unique for his , Burlington County , fire department.
Fox did not, however, have any answers to questions about the nature of the drone phenomenon like the inquiring public did.
” We don’t know what these drones are, or where they’re coming from, or what they’re carrying or not carrying”, Fox said.
Since mid-November, there has only been a rise in public concern over the large number of reports of unmanned aircraft being reported across the area.
Those sightings included areas near a military and research facility, critical infrastructure such as water reservoirs and electrical transmission lines, and near , President-elect , Donald Trump ‘s , Bedminster , golf club.
The spectacle has also unfolded in the skies over residential communities, including in a handful in suburbs like , Delaware County , and leading to at least 13 sightings in , New Jersey  , this weekend.
Social media users are posting images and videos of well-lit, unmanned vehicles gliding seemingly at random across platforms. Many of the drones have been reported to be significantly larger than typical hobby drones.
Senior government officials have since refuted rumors that the drones pose a threat to public safety or are of a foreign origin.  , New Jersey  , Gov.  , Phil Murphy, who said Monday that drone-detecting devices have found “little to no evidence” of anything nefarious or threatening, wrote a letter to President , Joe Biden , last week, expressing “growing concern” about the drones and seeking federal help” to fully understand what is behind this activity”.
But as reports of sightings persist, other leaders have called on the federal government to offer the public more information, or to intervene. On Truth Social, Trump suggested to” shoot them down!!”! ( Shooting any aircraft, including a drone, is illegal and a safety hazard, according to the , Federal Aviation Administration. )
The statewide drone crash protocol warning was issued to Fox ‘s , South Jersey  , fire department the same day a drone reportedly crashed in a residential area of , Pequannock Township , in , Morris County.
However, local media was informed that the downed drone appeared to be a “large commercial or military drone,” not a “large commercial or military drone.” Another report of a drone downing in , Somerset County, N. J., yielded no findings.
Fox claimed that officials instructed the fire department to use air monitoring tools to monitor readings for potential hazardous materials in addition to responding with protective equipment.
” This is a unique situation”, Fox said, “because there’s so much concern about these unmanned aerial vehicles in the public”.
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( c ) 2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer
Distributed by , Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
