CFA are set to expand their use of high-tech drones when battling fires across the state following a successful 12-month trial during the recent 2025-26 summer.

The Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems drone provides incident controllers with live high definition video, imaging and advanced thermal tracking to spot hidden dangers from above.

It proved a valuable asset for suburban brigades Rowville and Edithvale who conducted the pilot program.

During a fire at Phillip Island in January, drone’s were able to guide firefighters directly to hotspots which prevented a major outbreak and protected the local Koala Conservation Reserve.

Rowville fire brigade captain and RPAS pilot Cien Pereira works as an air traffic controller and said she was keen for CFA to try a new specialty which happened to align with the work she does.

“Drones provide incredible intelligence and there are long term benefits of where this program can go,” she said.

“There are incident controllers out there that don’t realise this is an option for them, so we’re doing demonstrations across the state to try and get the word out.

“RPAS provides more accurate, more up to date information and intelligence for better decision making, so this makes everything safer for both the community and our firefighters.”

CFA commander and manager of aviation John Katakouzinos said the 12-month pilot program has been very successful and hopes to roll it out further in the future.

“We’re got 21 highly trained drone pilots at the moment who have been responding to a range of incidents across the state, particularly over summer,” John said.

“The varying capabilities such as still images, 4K video, HD video, optical zoom and thermal imaging provide invaluable insights to our incident controllers and firefighters.

“The RPAS program is a remarkable asset to CFA now and into the future.”