Sunday, January 27, 2002
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Sunday, January 27, 2002 |
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Fire dept. gets high-tech help Fayetteville has some new high-tech firefighting tools, thanks in part to a local legislator. The Fayetteville Fire Department complimented state Rep. Kathy Cox of District 105 for her efforts and support in securing a state grant to assist the department with the purchase of thermal imaging camera units. The $20,000 grant permitted each of the city's two stations to be equipped with the cameras. Thermal imaging technology enables fire personnel to "see" heat sources and direct operations accordingly, regardless of smoke or light conditions. Use of thermal imaging cameras can enable fire units to quickly locate a fire in a building, accelerate the search for trapped victims, and detect hidden fire extension with minimal additional property damage. A short demonstration Tuesday showed just how effectively the camera detects heat. A firefighter walking down the hallway inside the station left "footprints" that were detected because of friction as he walked. He also left a handprint on a car by transferring his body heat to the metal, and that was captured by the camera as well. While thermal imaging technology has been used by the military for many years, the application of this technology in fire services was not very common until the mid-1990s. The transformation of the technology from the military environment to the high heat environments characteristic of fire services required substantial design changes to sufficiently shield the components while maintaining the unit at a size that could be easily managed by personnel. Since the advances in design have produced such units, the costs have become the primary obstacle, particularly with smaller fire departments. The thermal imaging system selected by Fayetteville consists of two cameras equipped with an internal transmitter. A receiver and video monitor are located in the department's command vehicle, allowing command personnel to view the images that interior personnel capture with the camera. The cost of the city's camera system, including transmitters, receiver, video monitor, VCR, and two-day training course for all department personnel was $43,000. "This is one of the most important pieces of equipment we have ever acquired," said Fayetteville Fire Chief Alan Jones.
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