The Auburn Fire Department utilized a drone on Tuesday to help assist in a swift water rescue involving two boy stranded on a rock near Mechanic Falls.
The boys became trapped on a rock in the middle the river while trying to tube in the fast-moving water, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.
One of the boys had a life jacket, the other did not, aerial video provided by the drone showed.
So, Chief Frank Roma rigged the drone to carry a line out to the young man who wasn’t wearing a vest, according to local TV station WMTW.
“I was able to take the drone out to him, lower it down to his level,” Roma told the station. “He was able to disconnect it and get the life vest on and then I was able to get the drone back up as an aerial observation.”
Both boys were safely rescued.
The chief has already received calls from fire departments across the county asking about the drone, he told the station.