Safety
Case Study •
When firefighters in Oswego County, New York, responded to a three-alarm fire at an aluminum plant in September of 2025, conditions quickly became too dangerous to continue operating inside. The building’s fire suppression system had failed, allowing flames to race up the walls and across the ceiling. With the structure unstable, crews were forced to withdraw and attack the fire from above, directing water onto the building from aerial ladders.
To sharpen their aerial strategy, firefighters needed to know where the fire was burning hottest. Around midnight, an official made a call to John McGraw with a simple question: “Is Spot available?”
McGraw, coordinator of Oswego County’s Drone and Robotics Program, had acquired Spot—Boston Dynamics’ agile, quadruped robot—just months earlier. Fire crews wanted to deploy the robot inside the smoke-filled building with a thermal camera to identify hot spots requiring additional water. Thermal imaging can be seen through dense smoke, revealing areas of extreme heat invisible to the naked eye.
“The structure became unsafe and they pulled all the firefighters out. Spot was used to look for hot spots so we could focus water where it was needed most. The goal was to make sure the fire didn’t spread any further.”
“Spot is easier and safer. It got inside without putting officers in harm’s way. It was an invaluable tool.” John McGraw, Drone and Robotics Coordinator, Oswego County
“Spot is easier and safer. It got inside without putting officers in harm’s way. It was an invaluable tool.”
Once the fire was contained, Spot continued to play a critical role. Over the following days, McGraw returned to the site multiple times, remotely guiding the robot through the charred facility. Using a tablet controller and wireless connection, he inspected sealed rooms, scanned for lingering heat, and searched for any smoldering fires that could reignite.
At one point, Spot was even used to recover another robot that had lost connectivity during lidar scans.
“They brought in another robot but lost contact with it,” McGraw said. “We sent Spot in with a rope and pulled it back out.”
McGraw’s work with Spot is part of a broader vision for an integrated emergency response network across central New York. After spending 21 years as a firefighter in Fulton, New York, and later working for the New York Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services as a UAS instructor, McGraw joined Oswego County Emergency Management in 2022.
The Oswego County Sheriff’s Office began with a single pilot and single drone. Seven years later, the county operates a network of remotely deployable drones positioned strategically throughout the area—and Spot has joined the fleet. McGraw has trained six sheriff deputies as drone pilots and Spot operators. Oswego County’s 911 call center can now launch drones remotely with the use of DFR technology, often arriving before emergency responders.
“We can get eyes on an incident within two or three minutes of receiving a call,” McGraw said.
Adding Spot to the program was a natural next step. While police have used robots for years, McGraw saw new potential when he encountered Spot on display at Boston’s Museum of Science. Unlike wheeled or tracked robots, which struggle with stairs and debris, Spot excels in complex environments.
Spot can walk, climb stairs, recover from falls, and open unlocked doors using its robotic arm.
“Most every time ground-based robots were used on an incident, they failed. Spot has been amazing.”
Spot was purchased through a grant from New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services. Although Oswego County is largely rural, with about 117,000 residents, McGraw notes that Spot has been used on several barricaded-subject incidents.
“We’ve used Spot multiple times this year in barricaded subject situations,” he said.
In one case, a suspect barricaded himself inside a home and threatened his family. Before officers entered, the Emergency Service Unit deployed Spot equipped with a 360-degree camera. An officer maneuvered the robot to the front door and selected a command on the tablet, prompting Spot to open it autonomously. Using its perception system, Spot assessed the handle and executed the movement without direct manual control.
Inside, Spot’s live video showed that the suspect had already fled, allowing officers to enter safely and assist the family.
“It’s not that we don’t have other tools to breach doors,” McGraw said. “But Spot is easier and safer. It got inside without putting officers in harm’s way. It was an invaluable tool.”
As Spot adoption grows nationwide, interagency cooperation has become essential. McGraw regularly collaborates with representatives from about ten counties and SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse to share insights and explore new applications for drones and robotics.
He also works closely with the Syracuse Police Department in neighboring Onondaga County. Both agencies operate the same model of Spot and the same drone systems, allowing them to share equipment and batteries as needed.
“Our pilots can run their Spot and vice versa,” McGraw said. “There’s been really strong collaboration.”
Beyond fires and police operations, Spot is helping Oswego County mitigate environmental risks. In addition to its thermal and zoom cameras, Spot can carry industrial sensors that detect toxic gases, chemicals, and radiation. This capability is especially valuable in a county home to three nuclear power plants, wastewater treatment facilities, and industrial sites storing chlorine and other hazardous materials.
Working with Connecticut-based integrator RADeCO, McGraw has equipped Spot with a multi-gas/chlorine and radiological detectors.
“We have a lot of chlorine in this county,” McGraw said. “Normally, someone in a hazmat suit must go in and take readings. With a large-scale incident, we could send Spot instead and keep people out of danger.”
McGraw is also testing a 3D-printed platform that allows Spot to carry a small indoor drone and deploy it once inside a building.
“This has enormous potential,” he said. “Spot transports the drone to the site, preserving battery life, and the drone deploys only when necessary.”
Word of mouth remains a key driver of adoption. As more agencies see Spot in action during real-world emergencies, interest continues to grow.
“As agencies see what Spot can actually do,” McGraw said, “the interest just keeps growing.”
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