Summary: Boone County Fire Protection District, in connection to Missouri Task Force 1, received a grant from the State Emergency Management Agency to support and deploy their team locally and at the state level for their UAS drone use and national disaster response. Jason Warzinik, the IT Division Manager, worked with Draxxon to craft a custom DX-1000 Mobile Command Vehicle (MCV) – or mobile command unit – that would provide them with the space and features they need to conduct successful missions.
Local Team with Nationwide Responsibilities
The Boone County Fire Protection District serves its local community. It also responds at the state and national level to support search and rescue missions, structural collapses, and natural disasters.
To better support these missions, Jason Warzinik set out to find a vendor. He needed someone willing to work with their team and its unique needs in the field.
A Much-Needed Upgrade
While the Boone County Fire Protection District was already operating with a vehicle for its missions, it was small, cramped, and lacked critical features. They needed something to supplement the current vehicle. Something with more storage, more capabilities, and room to work.
So, Jason set out on a mission of his own. He spoke with multiple vendors but quickly realized that Draxxon was the best team for the job.
Enter Draxxon
Jason mapped out all of his team’s needs in his initial conversations with Draxxon. This included drone capabilities, GIS support, radio equipment, workstations, and storage space.
He explained that one of the main issues with their current vehicle was its size. It was small and lacked space to work and store essential equipment, like GIS printers and plotters.
As conversation continued, Jason was impressed with Draxxon’s approach.
Draxxon ensured they could meet his team’s needs and included Jason in the entire process. He worked closely with the design team to optimize every nook and cranny of the mobile command unit.
“One of the main reasons we went with Draxxon was their responsiveness all the way through the purchasing process to the design process. They were willing to tweak their base design to fit our final end needs.”
This was a much different approach than the other vendors Jason spoke to. They lacked the customizable options and approached their service with a “you get what we have” mentality.
So, when it came time to make the final decision, Jason was pleased to work with Draxxon to complete the project.
An Ongoing Partnership
Once their vehicle was up and running, Jason saw what it meant to be in a partnership with Draxxon.
Like any new piece of technology, there was a learning curve to the custom DX-1000 mobile command unit.
However, Jason noted that Draxxon was on top of their game when he called with an issue. Even though the Boone County Fire Protection District was deployed and in the field, the Draxxon team was able to troubleshoot the problem with a quick phone call.
Another time, the Draxxon team sent a repair technician out the night before a deployment. He made a minor repair to ensure everything was running smoothly for the task.
For Jason and his team, it’s comforting to know there is support when it’s needed.
The Custom DX-1000 Mobile Command Unit in Action
When Jason was asked to describe a scenario where their custom DX-1000 mobile command unit had been used, he pointed to a lost person search.
The team was able to deploy and fly the drone, and watch the feed on the screens all while inside the vehicle. This allowed the search managers to watch for the child and be a part of the search, rather than stand next to the person flying the little drone.
The enhanced visibility was crucial to the mission.
Draxxon’s Team Left a Strong Impression
With the custom features, newfound space, and support from the Draxxon team the Boone County Fire Protection District has the tools it needs to complete its missions.
“We’ve been thoroughly impressed with the quality of their work. They really maximize the space inside the vehicle. With their workmanship on the build quality and the usability of all the features, you can tell that they’ve spent a lot of time engineering the different components that they put into the truck.”
