Drone innovator, Las Vegas native gives back, launches BRINC Global Rescue Network
By Maddie White
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — With his rapidly growing startup BRINC Drones, one young Las Vegas engineer is now taking on the challenge of responding immediately to catastrophes anywhere across the globe, and he’s doing it by donating drones and resources.
This month, the 22-year-old CEO Blake Resnick announced their philanthropic effort titled BRINC Global Rescue Network.
“If we can just get resources in place, to sort of respond to our requests for help, we could do a lot more,” said Resnick, who invented the advanced tactical drone called the Lemur S. The technology is often used by law enforcement in hostage situations, as it has the ability to break glass to enter buildings, along with a two-way audio communicator for negotiators.
FOX5 first introduced you to Resnick last year when he had returned from Surfside, Florida, after he was called on to help with the tower collapse recovery efforts with the advanced drone he invented.
“I got a call from the SWAT commander in Miami,” said Resnick.
More recently, he returned from the Ukrainian border, where he also donated drones, but to help Ukrainian first responders combating Russian forces.
He said the feedback he has received so far from Ukrainians is that his drone is helping them survey buildings for survivors in the war-torn regions.
“An apartment building might be hit by a cruise missile; they are gonna want to search that structure for survivors, understand if it’s still structurally stable or not,” said Resnick. “But they don’t want to enter it, because they’re worried it might collapse on them.”
But in BRINC’s response to such emergencies, Resnick said he realized his company would be better equipped to help, if they had a structure for preparedness.
“Having people and equipment sort of prepared to immediately deploy during emergencies,” explained Resnick, “where before we’d sort of be scrambling.”
He added, “I think we could have gone a little faster on the Ukraine stuff if we’d had all these pieces together.”
That is why BRINC is now launching their Global Rescue Network: a neutral, nonpartisan, philanthropic endeavor where they will donate the use of equipment, staffing and expertise at the request of first responders in emergencies.
“We’ve taken the United States, we’ve broken it up into ten regions — each of those regions is staffed by full-time Lemur pilot basically — and they have two drones, so all of that together is 20 drones around the country,” said Resnick. “Like if something happens, it’s a car ride away.”
BRINC’s client base has been growing as they sell their technology to agencies who need it. With more than $25 million raised from investors last year alone, BRINC’s size has since expanded rapidly. They even opened a Seattle office, where half the BRINC staff are now working from.
“We’re about 100 people now, which has been quite the change, because it was just me 18 months ago, um, so that’s been major,” said Resnick.
He said it has been wonderful to watch his dream of saving lives take flight. It’s a dream that he says developed after witnessing the tragedy of October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas.
“It’s sort of — in a way — all of this, coming full circle. Ya know? It’s, I think it’s BRINC starting to live up to its original mission,” said Resnick.
BRINC’s drone has been deployed to and operated in more than 55 countries. Their team has accrued more than 10,000 unmanned systems flight hours, according to the company.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was one of their first clients.
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