Fire Fighter/Hazardous Materials Technician/UAS Coordinator
Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue, Florida
Sarasota, Florida, United States
Rich Gatanis began his career in 2003 as a Firefighter/EMT/HazMat Technician with Southern Manatee Fire Rescue located in Manatee County, Florida. In 2015, Rich took on the role of UAS Coordinator at SMFR by creating a UAS program within his agency. Since then, SMFR has become a national leader in developing and implementing policy and best practices for UAS response in hazardous materials and special operations. His innovative and forward thinking led him to develop specialized devices that allows a drone to carry chemical, gas, and radiation detectors into an area to remotely monitor the air in real time using onboard camera systems.
Throughout Rich’s career with Southern Manatee Fire Rescue FL, Manatee County-SAR, Brinc Drones, Skydio and the DRONERESPONDERS-Florida Public Safety UAS Coordination Group (FLOGRU), he has worked closely with industry leaders involved in the development of technology for UAS operations in public safety. Not only has Rich helped the industry push purpose-built development, but he has also accrued intricate knowledge of how this technology works and performs in extreme environments.
Disclosure information not submitted.
Responding to Hurricane Ian: Drones and Emergency Communications Lessons Learned
Sunday, October 15, 2023
8:00 AM – 9:15 AM PST
