Douglas Spencer

Oglethorpe County EMS shift supervisor and paramedic Dylan Smith assembles a search-and-rescue drone at the EMS station in Crawford on Aug. 29. Smith and local emergency crews work alongside UGA disaster management researchers to integrate advanced aerial technology into rural operations. (ISABELLA PANG/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Oglethorpe County EMS shift supervisor and paramedic Dylan Smith assembles a search-and-rescue drone at the EMS station in Crawford on Aug. 29. Smith and local emergency crews work alongside UGA disaster management researchers to integrate advanced aerial technology into rural operations. (ISABELLA PANG/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Partnership with UGA gives boost to emergency services

Isabella Pang
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Reaching the scene is often the largest hurdle for first responders when there’s an emergency somewhere across Oglethorpe County’s more than 400 square miles.
Oglethorpe County EMS director Josh Robinson (left) and Emergency Management Agency director Douglas Spencer send the Teledyne FLIR SIRAS drone up for a flight in Lexington last week. They are the county’s two licensed drone pilots. (Katherine Davis/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Oglethorpe County EMS director Josh Robinson (left) and Emergency Management Agency director Douglas Spencer send the Teledyne FLIR SIRAS drone up for a flight in Lexington last week. They are the county’s two licensed drone pilots. (Katherine Davis/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Drone fleet takes to the skies

Katherine Davis
Thursday, October 23, 2025
The full fleet of three drones purchased by the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners has arrived and is being put to use. “Drones are becoming a part of everyday life,” Emergency Management Agency director Douglas Spencer said.

Spencer hopes to gain info from exercise

Emma Greene
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Douglas Spencer, Oglethorpe County’s administrator for the emergency management agency, has run two smaller mass casualty exercises in preparation for the larger simulation planned for Saturday.