Keith Perry, 34-years-old has a happening drone business — Hudson Valley Drones — and has been volunteering for the Gardiner Fire Department since 2017. He carries a pager connected to the Ulster County 911 dispatch, and is, essentially, on call 24-7.
The drone business is his day job, he explains, though there is some cross-over when an aerial sighting in a rescue operation, say, might be necessary. Drones are sometimes replacing expensive helicopter forays these days, though not in every situation. Keith’s company doesn’t manufacture them; he’s a distributor. He also offers training. Hudson Drones is a for-profit company, and there is a charge for the drones and all services, but their emergency management uses are close to Keith’s altruistic responder’s heart.
In late 2020, for example, Hudson Drones were part of an operation with Ulster County Division of Emergency Management and New Paltz Police Department in which they used drones equipped with thermal imaging to locate someone having a medical emergency on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail and directed first responders to their location, a successful operation.
Keith started his volunteer gig with the fire department for a very personal reason: altruism runs in the family. His brother was a firefighter in Wallkill, where the Perry boys grew up, and one of his grandfathers was a founding member of the Town of Newburgh EMS, another was a firefighter in Saugerties. Two of his uncles were also firefighters, a grounding legacy for a young man fascinated with drones. “I’ve always wanted to be the best first responder I can be so that I can hopefully help a patient and their family through a time of crisis,” Keith says.
A competitive wrestler in high school, Keith has always stayed in shape and still exercises four to five days a week. “When I put on either my EMT uniform, or my firefighter uniform, I present a well-trained professional to the other first responders and to the people we are rescuing. It’s important to both look the part and to have the skills necessary.”
Nonetheless, he found the training to be an EMT and a firefighter demanding, as it should be. “When I first started college, I thought I’d like to become a civil engineer and build bridges, but I ended up at John Jay College and have a degree in criminology. Then I changed my mind about becoming a police officer and went into business,” he explains, commenting thoughtfully on the challenges law enforcement faces these days. But the family tradition of service gnawed at him until he joined the Gardiner Fire Department. It’s now satisfied.
“And it’s exciting,” he says, “sometimes too exciting. If we are too ramped up, we can’t make good decisions, so we keep the excitement under wraps when we are working. Then it might be hard to wind down.” Like most emergency and humanitarian services, psychological support is offered during training, and beyond. Keith learned a meditation technique known as “box breathing,” used by both Yoga aficionados and the Navy Seals. “We have to look after ourselves, we have to stay safe,” he says. “Gardiner had 600 emergency calls last year and it has a large catchment area, extending up to the Mohonk Preserve.”
We are now into a hot June and the possibility of wildfires looms. Last summer, the Napanoch fire started on August 29, probably by a lightning strike. It consumed 30 acres of the Minnewaska State Park. It was all hands on deck: The York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers, staff, volunteers; the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; the Ulster County Emergency Services; the New York State Police Aviation — the helicopters — the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and local volunteer fire departments. That’s what it takes to contain a wildfire.
Here’s the upshot: climate change is here. These fires were yet another warning in an accumulation of warnings — torrential rains, flash flooding and other extreme weather events.
Unlike international relief workers who live abroad during an aid mission, away from family, friends and daily routines, domestic emergency workers usually live in the communities they serve and go home to their day jobs, partners and families to rest and recover. Keith is aware that he’s blessed in this way. He’s married and has two adorable dogs, a thriving business, and a peaceful community to come home to.
For information about volunteering for fire departments in Ulster County, visit https://fireinyou.org/ulster/
Join the family! 
