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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials in Philadelphia are looking at the idea of using drones to aid in public safety and improve government services, including aiding emergency crews in handling fires, storms and other dangerous conditions. The city controller's office said Wednesday in a report on best practices for using drones that the office launched its own drone to inspect dangerous buildings in several neighborhoods. The drone's footage "captured several concerning conditions such as missing roofs, weak structures and signs of trespassing on large, unsafe structures," officials said. Controller Alan Butkovitz said the drones wouldn't be a substitute for professional inspection by licensed inspectors, but would allow officials "to cover more ground in less time." "A visual inspection of one block consisting of 56 homes could be completed in 30 seconds," the report said. Butkovitz said drones could also be used to increase response times during fires and emergencies by surveying traffic and street conditions, to monitor streets that haven't been plowed after snowstorms, to survey rail tracks during inclement weather, for bridge and construction site inspections and to assess stream conditions, ecological patterns and wildlife populations. Officials said drones are being used in other cities. Somerville, Massachusetts, uses them to head off snow-related roof collapses, while in Minnesota they are used for bridge inspections, and in Ann Arbor they help evaluate potholes and identify severe rutting and draining uses.

Philadelphia eyes use of drones for emergencies, services