A new building on Kelley Road in Orono will be a hangar and rescue station for a Maine search and rescue organization with more than 120 volunteers.
Down East Emergency Medicine Institute, a volunteer organization funded by donations, built a new hangar in Orono earlier this year after previously using a space at the Bangor International Airport for decades. The new location will allow DEEMI to store and work on one of their helicopters, their multiple drones and their two Humvees.
The hangar is unassuming from the outside but large enough for a helicopter and equipment to fit in. The building is painted blue and sports the organization’s logo, but DEEMI’s helicopters and Humvees are painted in their orange, white and yellow coloring.
DEEMI is Maine’s largest volunteer search and rescue organization, and helps state and local agencies find and rescue missing or lost people. Despite being funded by donations, the organization has technology that other search teams and police do not have access to.
During DEEMI’s open house Wednesday, the hangar showcased how heat imaging, drones and helicopter coverage can help searches. DEEMI Director Richard Bowie called their resources “simple technology that works.”
“Our big thing is that we use technology to find people,” Bowie said.
DEEMI participates in roughly 20 search and rescue missions a year, Bowie said. In recent years, the organization has sent volunteers and supplies to disasters in North Carolina and searches across Maine and other New England states, Bowie said.
It’s easier to respond to events out of the state than one would imagine because volunteers are “embedded in states across the county,” meaning some people are already where a disaster or search is taking place, Bowie said. In one instance, a volunteer living in Asheville, North Carolina, was able to help DEEMI coordinate delivering thousands of pounds of supplies during Hurricane Helene.
One of DEEMI’s helicopters, which is kept in Bar Harbor, helped deliver the supplies. Another helicopter, which is undergoing repairs, was the centerpiece for the open house.
Along the edges of the rescue station sat a drone that can upload still images to artificial intelligence to lower search times, an underwater remotely operated vehicle that can search up to 1,000 feet of water, and cameras capable of using heat imaging and night vision.
Joe Hayden, who owns and operates the underwater vehicle, said he hasn’t been involved in any searches yet. Xingda Chan, a post-doctorate researcher at UMass Amherst, also hasn’t had an opportunity to volunteer for any searches, but his research will be used to shorten search times through the use of artificial intelligence.
Chan’s research focuses on how AI can scan images to find specific things like people in black clothing standing near water, or with more generic responses, like how bad traffic is in an area. DEEMI’s imaging, which is done with quick, still images that are later searched by volunteers, gave Chan’s research a real-world application.
The AI program could shorten a 72-hour search to less than 10 minutes, he said. Its offline system means volunteers could use it in remote Maine areas.
Other volunteers, including Chief Pilot David Wight, are also searching for ways the organization can better help.
Wight, who was a helicopter pilot in California before moving to Maine, said he’s trying to find roughly $35,000 in funding for two sets of night vision goggles. The goggles could allow DEEMI to search with their helicopter during night, which is not done by other agencies.
“No one is searching at night. They have to wait for the morning,” Wight said.
Finding funding has not been an issue previously, Boyd said. People generally donate after seeing how helpful DEEMI is during searches, Boyd said. In some instances, companies have donated as much as two cars or multiple helicopter motors after seeing DEEMI’s work, he said.
“It’s really built on generosity,” Boyd said.