Arizona fire departments in danger of losing drones made by Chinese company

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A bill in Congress would effectively ban DJI drones in the US| Public safety agencies that rely on them say it will cost lives.

A bill in Congress would effectively ban DJI drones in the U.S. Public safety agencies that rely on them say it will cost lives.CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — The Regional Fire Rescue Department in Casa Grande flies three different drones, all from DJI. Luis Martinez keeps them all running.The RFRD uses drones for search and rescue, surveying scenes, and finding hotspots in fires, they're even trained to deliver life jackets to people caught in floods.

The issue, Stefanik has said, is over the possibility of a Chinese company attempting to spy on the United States using those drones. "That's absolutely false," Martinez said."DJI drones have a feature where we can just turn off the data. So nothing is leaving the drone." Florida recently passed a ban on DJI drones for public agencies as well. The state offered up $25 million to replace them. But state officials estimate agencies spent $200 million to buy them in the first place, eight times what they've been given for new drones.

An Arizona woman called the Phoenix VA's crisis hotline to get help for a friend. Her call went unanswered. It turns out that problem is not uncommonCatch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.

 

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