Stillwater Strong: CEAT drone technology aiding firefighters and first responders

Stillwater Strong: CEAT drone technology aiding firefighters and first responders

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Media Contact: Kristi Wheeler | Manager, CEAT Marketing and Communications | 405-744-5831 | [email protected]

On March 14, 2025, high winds, extremely dry conditions and a potent storm system converged to spark a wave of wildfires across Oklahoma, devastating communities and overwhelming first responders.

The spring wildfires destroyed over 170,000 acres and leveled 539 homes and structures across the state. Stillwater was among the hardest hit areas. Ninety-eight homes were completely lost that day and 123 homes were impacted. Among those, 46 were Oklahoma State University employees and their families and five OSU retirees.

Amid the destruction, firefighters and first responders turned to innovative drone technology - developed in Stillwater - to enhance wildfire monitoring and response. A key figure in this effort is Dr. Jamey Jacob, Regents Professor at the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology and executive director of the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education at OSU.

DRONES IN ACTION

Low-flying drones equipped with visible and infrared cameras have been crucial in providing live "eyes in the sky" during wildfires.

Unlike traditional aerial tools, they operate below smoke layers and deliver thermal imagery that pinpoints hotspots, identifies flareups and maps firebreak breaches in real time. These systems greatly reduce risk to personnel who no longer need to patrol thick smoke firebreaks on foot.

For Stillwater, where unpredictable spring winds fueled rapid fire spread, this drone technology was vital, allowing crews to act swiftly to emerging threats.

"In Oklahoma, this research concentrates on wildfires," Jacob said. "Drones serve multiple purposes, not only for fire detection, but also for guiding ground personnel beyond initial sighting points. Using diverse sensors, including infrared heat vision, enables the identification of hot spots and fire lines, facilitating strategic deployment. In addition, the imagery obtained through drone technology often surpasses the resolution of satellite imagery, enhancing overall effectiveness in disaster response and management.

A drone captures an image of leveled homes in Stillwater, Oklahoma, from the wildfires on March 14.

"That Friday, during the fires, we couldn't fly. It was too windy. You just can't have aircraft, unmanned aircraft or manned helicopters operating in that environment without the threat of hurting or even killing someone. We provided support primarily that evening and the next day when the winds died down. This demonstrates the critical need to develop systems that can fly in these environments."

Using drones, Jacob and his team could fly over Stillwater and other parts of the state to locate all the hot spots and inform the firefighters in real time so they could swiftly extinguish them, preventing them from reigniting another fire.

"The next day, we did large-scale mapping to survey the regions and develop detailed orthomosaics, high-resolution geometrically corrected aerial images that provide a true top-down view of an area, free from distortions and perspective errors, of what the fire damage looked like," Jacob said.

Orthomosaic images, generated from drones, provide significantly higher resolution, often measured in centimeters per pixel, than what a satellite would, which is what has been used traditionally. This level of detail allows for granular analysis and identifying fine features that may not be visible in satellite images. They can also capture pictures from lower altitudes and various angles, resulting in greater flexibility.

Additionally, orthomosaic images can be captured immediately, whereas with a satellite, it could take days or even weeks to capture photos and get the information needed to move forward. This allowed the team to identify which houses were leveled, which houses were damaged and to what extent the damage was.

This technology is especially impactful in areas like Stillwater that face intense wind-driven fire risk. By integrating advanced sensors, AI and improved drone designs, Jacob and his team assisted with faster response time, pinpointing vulnerable assets and keeping firefighters out of harm's way.

A SAFER TOMORROW

OSU has one of the best fire protection programs in the nation paired with one of the nation's best UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) and drone programs.

The drone program focuses on engineering development systems and how to advance that technology for communities to use.

"We are currently working with our fire and emergency management administration faculty and students to modify a drone and working on a very large helicopter to assist with fighting fires," Jacob said.

Jacob explained the general applications of unmanned aircraft systems technology: observation, delivery, weather and where they are headed.

"We have this very large weather program funded by NOAA working directly with the National Weather Service," Jacob said. "We're trying to take data in real time, above the ground, and provide that to the National Weather Service to improve weather forecasting."

This will provide real-time information to first responders and allow them to create models that can predict what will happen in the next hour, the next 12 hours, and so on, which is useful for severe storms and wildfires.

"This project is really focused on the ability to pull in data that you can utilize to help improve your sourcing," Jacob said. "When you're operating things such as smaller drones or larger Uber air taxis, you must know what the weather scenario is. We need that information to be able to fly these things. At the same time, you can use drones as a useful tool to get that weather information together and use that to help provide critical data to tell you what that looks like."

On March 14, 2025, high winds, extremely dry conditions and a potent storm system converged to spark a wave of wildfires across Oklahoma, devastating communities and overwhelming first responders.

Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Jacob and his team are working on a project to create the standards for developing drones that can operate in severe weather environments such as tornadoes, rain, hail, snow or fire.

"Right now, there are no sets of requirements or standards to adhere to," Jacob said.

"So, when you're trying to develop this new technology, there's nothing to go by, such as the specifications for the sensors, the instrumentation or the hardware that you put on them."

The LaunchPad Center for Advanced Air Mobility Drones for First Responders program also provides forward-looking innovations and opportunities. One project focuses on developing new technology to aid firefighters and first responders statewide in emergency scenarios.

The LaunchPad, located at the Helmerich Research Center on the OSU-Tulsa campus, houses dedicated resources to promote the development of new technologies in advanced air mobility to entrepreneurs and groups in communities throughout the state.

Partnering with the Tulsa Fire Department, the team is developing a system for the fire department to evaluate how well drones can work in emergencies such as fires, automobile accidents and water emergencies, among others.

"One of the projects we are working on now is a test pilot program called Drone in a Box," Jacob said. "It's a small box about the size of a printer that a drone sits in, and is placed on the top of the building at the Gathering Place, located in the heart of Tulsa."

The Gathering Place was the first location chosen because the fire department receives many water-related emergency calls from patrons kayaking on the Arkansas River or swimming in Zink Lake. The drone will assist with situational awareness so that first responders know what to expect regarding the surrounding area or who to send to that emergency.

"If there is someone in the Arkansas River, we can see so much more from a drone," Jacob said. "We can see exactly where they are, and we're not sending boats upstream when the emergency is downstream. We know exactly where they are because we've got eyes on them quickly. So, it speeds up the response, it is a more effective response, and it's the right resource."

They have plans to place drones like these throughout the city to assist with emergencies.

The team is also working with St. Francis and Cherokee Nation Health Services on using drone technology to deliver medical supplies from one location to another, a project that ties into something they are working on with the Cherokee Nation and the Center for Health Sciences.

"We received a grant from the Department of Transportation that will focus on drone technology delivering emergency aid and medicine to remote populations within the Cherokee Nation," Jacob said.

With the collaboration between CEAT and OAIRE, the future for first responders is proving to be safer and is providing a more rapid recovery response.

In essence, the Stillwater wildfires underscored both our vulnerability and resilience. Residents can rest a bit easier knowing that, amid the flames, local minds are using cutting-edge drone technology to protect lives and property. Whether it's thermal drones spotting hidden embers, surveying vast burn areas, providing situation awareness or delivering medical supplies, drone innovation is making our communities safer - right from our own backyard.

Photos by: Mitchell Alcala, Gabe Gudgel and OAIRE

Story by: Kristi Wheeler | IMPACT Magazine