To: Board of Directors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Contract with DroneSense, Inc.
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to execute a contract with DroneSense,Inc., in an amount not to exceed $25,000 to manage all maintenance records for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and to provide live streaming video download capabilities, for the period March 29, 2026 through March 28, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Budgeted. 100% CCCFPD General Operating Fund.
BACKGROUND:
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CCCFPD) has been operating Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or drones since 2019. Initially, CCCFPD only operated two drones throughout the District with several pilots. Since then, the UAS program has grown to over 20 pilots operating eight drones throughout the District. The primary pilots are with the Fire Investigation Unit or on the Hazmat Team. Since the team has grown substantially with the number of pilots and UAS platforms utilized, it is necessary to use a UAS software platform to track maintenance, pilot logs and flight records. The proposed software allows the UAS pilot to live stream the drone video to incident command and/or other chief officers at locations outside the incident command post. DroneSense will provide drone specific maintenance equipment including the batteries, remote controls, propellers, camera and software updates.
The DroneSense Terms and Conditions include an indemnification from CCCFPD to DroneSense for claims based upon CCCFPD's use of the platform or data provided, as well as a limitation of liability capping liability at the amount of the fees paid under the agreement.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If not approved, CCCFPD will not be able to ensure the necessary maintenance procedures and documentation are occurring on all of the operational drones across the Dist...
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