The Mandeville Fire/Rescue Department added a drone program as part of its firefighting equipment, ksla.com reported. An $18,000 donation from the family of a former firefighter who was killed while on duty made it possible.
In 2021, Assistant Fire Chief Lucas Stephenson, 25, was responding to a crash when the brush truck he was in overturned, killing him. Stephenson had been with the department for eight years.
A fire official said the donation is the largest citizen donation for his department, according to the report. In honor of Lucas, the drone is registered with the FAA as 622 which was his radio number with the department, the report said.
“We’ve been keeping a secret,” Mandeville Fire/Rescue said in a Facebook post Friday, May 31. “Mandeville Fire Department would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Stephenson family for their incredibly generous donation of $18,000 to purchase this drone to start a drone program. In memory of Lucas Stephenson and with profound appreciation, we thank the Stephenson family for their generosity and unwavering commitment to the Mandeville volunteer Fire Department.”
