Case Study: Richmond Fire Department improves firefighting debriefs with Pix4D drone mapping

The future of hotwashes: drone mapping and firefighting

Richmond Fire Department in Richmond, Indiana, needed a better way to document fire scenes for post-response debriefs, investigations, and city safety planning. Working with Pix4D, the department began using drone mapping and photogrammetry software, including PIX4Dmapper and PIX4Dcatch, to capture sites after incidents and create accurate 3D models instead of relying on drawings or outdated maps.

Using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro, an iPad Pro, and Pix4D’s software, the department flies scenes typically within 24 hours of a call, processes the data on a desktop computer, and shares outputs through PIX4Dcloud. Pix4D helped Richmond Fire Department improve hotwashes, support vehicle crash investigations and fire inspections, and provide a more immersive, detailed record of incidents; one project involved 1,142 images, 20 MP capture, and about 5 hours of processing time, while enabling faster collaboration with external agencies.

Richmond Fire Department

Jamey Miller

Firefighter/ EMT