Northern Wake Fire's new search and recovery ROV

Decided they could do better

Battalion Chief Ryan Walsh and Captain Adam Stuart at the Blueye office in Trondheim.

Battalion Chief Ryan Walsh and Captain Adam Stuart have spent years responding to emergencies on and around Falls Lake, a 12,000-acre reservoir where roughly 80 percent of the Wake County portion lies within the Northern Wake Fire District. For a department responsible for about 175 miles of shoreline, that's a lot of water to watch, especially during busy summer months filled with boating, fishing, and camping.

Inside the training week with Northern Wake Fire.

In many cases, their responses turn into recovery operations rather than rescues. Doing those operations well means searching thoroughly, finding answers quickly, and keeping divers out of the water until there is a reason to send them in.

However, their tools have been limited. Using side-scan sonar mounted on a boat gives the crew a rough picture from the surface, but identifying targets still takes time, manpower, and divers working in almost no visibility. In murky freshwater, a sonar mounted at the rear of a boat can only narrow a search area so far.

After watching a neighboring agency operate a different underwater drone, the Northern Wake team decided they could do better. They researched the options, tested them, and chose the Blueye X3. The unit will be the first Blueye ROV used by a fire department in the United States.

Map of Falls Lake showing the Northern Wake Fire District service area — Falls Lake, the Northern Wake Fire District service area and their 4 stations, covering roughly 80 percent of the Wake County portion of the lake.

We don't want to have to keep tying up resources that are needed for public safety to find one body in a lake, but how do you tell a family that they're not worth all that investment? So we put the investment in smarter technology, and we can use our people to their fullest potential to be able to recover that body quicker. - Ryan Walsh, Battalion Chief, Northern Wake Fire Department.

Their new ROV system combines different payloads for optimal S&R operations:

Oculus M750d forward-looking multibeam sonar for locating targets in murky water
Reach Alpha Gripper for recovery operations
Blueye GPS and DVL A-50 to document position and where searches have been conducted

Traveled 4,000 miles to train in Norway

A Blueye ROV can be operated by anyone with no formal training, but Northern Wake wanted more than that, and sent Walsh and Stuart to learn everything they could from Blueye directly. For both of them, the 4,000-mile trip was about understanding the equipment well enough to train the rest of their crew back home in North Carolina, and make a difference to the citizens they serve.

By receiving the training and the hands-on, we hope to go back and provide our citizens with the best thing we can. - Ryan Walsh, Battalion Chief, Northern Wake Fire Department.

Trond Larsen from Blueye walking the Northern Wake officers through the Blueye X3 components — Trond Larsen from Blueye walks the officers through the drone's components.

A Northern Wake officer working on the Blueye X3 at a service bench in Trondheim — Hands-on maintenance training at a Blueye service bench.

Over three days in early May, the guys went through classroom sessions and hands-on diving exercises together with Blueye's Senior Technical Sales Engineer Trond Larsen. Getting to learn the technical basics of the drone, how to best operate the sonar and positioning systems, and how to service it in the field.

Putting their new skills to the test

Training did not only stay in the classroom and lab. Trond took the officers out for three training dives in realistic environments. First in the controlled conditions of the Blueye Shorelab at Dora in Trondheim, then out at the Baklidammen reservoir, and finally in the harbor beside the office.

Close-up of hands working on a Blueye X3 component — Ryan Walsh getting to know the Blueye App interface and how to operate the in-app sonar fucntion.

Trainees practicing with Blueye Rugged Controllers during the operator training in Trondheim — Dive practice on the Blueye Rugged Controller and on a mobile device connected to a XBOX controller .

The Northern Wake officers with the Blueye X3 at the Baklidammen reservoir — The Northern Wake Fire officers with the ROV equipment at the Baklidammen reservoir.

Battalion Chief Ryan Walsh and Captain Adam Stuart reviewing the Blueye Rugged Controller at Baklidammen reservoir — Stuart operating the ROV at Baklidammen using the Rugged Controller.

On that last dive in the harbor, the training turned into a realistic diving operation for the officers. The local fire department were out in the harbor training as well, but had trouble locating their rescue doll. The perfect opportunity for Stuart and Walsh to test their newly learned skills. Using the sonar they quickly located the doll, then used the X3 and gripper to recover and bring it up to the surface. It was the same task they will face at home, carried out with the same tools they will use. And they did it all in minutes.

Stuart and Walsh locating and retrieving the rescue doll for the local fire department in Norway. Captured on the Blueye X3 ROV camera.

The murky challenge

Conditions at home will be harder. In the freshwater of Falls Lake, which turns murky after heavy rain, the ROV camera only helps once the drone is close to the object.

We spend a lot of time, a lot of manpower, and a lot of resources trying to locate a drowning victim. Our boats become our sonar imaging and the quality is less than ideal. - Ryan Walsh, Battalion Chief, Northern Wake Fire Department.

The department's boats already carry side-scan sonar, but it reads from a fixed position at the surface, and it only tells them so much. That's where the multibeam sonar on the X3 will be a game changer. Rather than a fixed downward read, the operator can aim, sweep, and move it across the seabed with the drone.

We can manipulate the sonar itself and really give a good sweep. We can cover so much lake bed quickly. It really narrows down our search area and allows us to be more efficient. - Adam Stuart, Captain, Northern Wake Fire Department.

Forward-looking multibeam sonar display on the Blueye Rugged Controller — Stuart operating the multibeam sonar on the Blueye Rugged Controller during a dive at the Baklidammen reservoir.

On Falls Lake, a search may begin with only a rough last-known location. Instead of immediately deploying divers into low-visibility water, the team can first search with the X3 and sonar, investigate any targets the sonar picks up, and narrow the area before sending in divers. That new reach matters a whole deal when the water is too murky for divers or the ROV camera. A shape can be ruled in or out from a distance, then approached and the camera can confirm it. This keeps divers out of the water until there is a clear reason to send them in.

The camera is only going to get you so far. Being able to put the sonar into play and really identify targets, to get close enough to identify with the camera, is going to be huge for us. - Ryan Walsh, Battalion Chief, Northern Wake Fire Department.

A new way to collaborate

During the dive at the Baklidammen reservoir, Ryan Walsh monitored the operation through Samsung Galaxy XR while Adam Stuart piloted the ROV. As Stuart searched the lakebed with the X3 and sonar, Walsh viewed the live video and sonar feed in real time, helping identify targets and coordinate the search.

Together they located and identified objects on the lakebed in murky conditions similar to those they face at Falls Lake. For public safety teams such as the Northern Wake crew, this setup shows how the operator and observers can navigate together and share situational awareness during an operation without crowding around one single screen or device.

Battalion Chief Ryan Walsh and Captain Adam Stuart at Baklidammen reservoir — Battalion Chief Ryan Walsh and Captain Adam Stuart at the Baklidammen reservoir.

Battalion Chief Ryan Walsh viewing the Blueye X3 feed through Apple Vision Pro while Captain Adam Stuart pilots the ROV — Ryan Walsh watching the live video and sonar feed through Samsung Galaxy XR while Adam Stuart pilots the ROV with te Rugged Controller.

Taking it home

Back in North Carolina, the two officers carry different responsibilities. As Battalion Chief, Walsh will coordinate the program and keep the wider crew up to speed. Stuart, as a Captain, will operate the drone day to day and train the team around him.

The amount of knowledge I've gained here is going to really help me explain it on a very simple level to the folks I work with. - Adam Stuart, Captain, Northern Wake Fire Department.

Blueye X3 in front of a Northern Wake Fire Department engine — The Blueye ROV kit in front of a Northern Wake Fire Department engine. Photo: Northern Wake Fire Department

A Northern Wake Fire Department crew aboard the BayRider on Falls Lake. Photo: Northern Wake Fire Department

Blueye X3 below the surface during initial crew training in a local pool — The Blueye X3 during initial crew training in a local pool in the district. Photo: Northern Wake Fire Department

Live underwater video from the Blueye X3 on the Rugged Controller during pool training — Live underwater video from the X3 on the Rugged Controller during initial crew training in a local pool. Photo: Northern Wake Fire Department

The department is already looking past Falls Lake. Retention ponds, farm ponds, and smaller lakes within an hour's drive would be just as suited to use the ROV. The department says its Blueye ROV unit, named NWSUB4, is the first Blueye X3 ROV used by a fire department in the United States. NWSUB4 will go into service alongside Boat 4, the department's new 24-foot BayRider, out of the New Light Road fire house.

Blueye X3 staged at a Falls Lake boat ramp — The Northern Wake Fire Department's Blueye X3 at Falls Lake before a training dive. Photo: Northern Wake Fire Department

For Northern Wake Fire Department, the goal is clear. Equipping their team with the ROV is about increased efficiency and effectiveness, providing closure to victim families, and reducing the wait that comes with calling in outside dive support. The Blueye ROV does not replace the boats, the divers, or the training. It helps the crew use them more effectively, and the difference it makes in location and recovery of victims could be measured in hours.