Manatee may be the first county in the nation to soon have drones work alongside EMS. 

County commissioners now have a partnership with Archer First Response Systems, which make self-flying drones using artificial intelligence.

“It’ll deliver life-saving items to residents before an ambulance can arrive,” Manatee County Public Safety Director Jacob Saur said.

And they can get where they’re going very quickly.

The drones can fly 55 square miles in five minutes and drop off emergency supplies like Narcan, tourniquets and EKGs. 

“A 911 telecommunicator will be able to instruct the caller on that, until EMS can arrive,” Saur explained. 

For now, it’s a pilot program, and it’s expected to cost the county just one dollar per month.

The FAA must sign off before the drone program becomes permanent.