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Date: 12/28/2017
AGAWAM – The Agawam Fire Department is improving firefighter safety by providing thermal imaging cameras for every on-duty firefighter.
The imagers convert infrared light into an image on an LCD screen, allowing firefighters to see in dark and smoky environments. The screens on the devices can detect heat levels in burning rooms, find trapped victims and locate possible exits, according to Fire Chief Alan Sirois.
“It helps firefighters to see through smoke and darkness where you wouldn’t normally be able to see your hand in front of your face,” said Sirois. “You can now scan and see the entire room on the screen as you pan around the room.”
Sirois said the visibility offered by the cameras will reduce the risk for disorientation, which is a leading factor in firefighter deaths within structure fires.
“By removing the confusion and by having a visible image that you can see,” he said. “I can see if there is an exit in front of me or if there is an exit to the right where I wouldn’t normally be able to see those.”
Previously, the department could only afford to provide one thermal imaging camera per truck. The on-duty firefighters would have to share the expensive cameras, which could cost up to $20,000 each.
In the last decade, the cameras have become more cost-effective and affordable. An individual FLIR K2 Imager is now selling for $1,400 per unit, and includes battery chargers and lanyards.
Sirois said the department recently purchased enough units to provide for every on-duty firefighter – totaling roughly three to four per truck.
“Having that ability to access it immediately on your person, as opposed to looking for it or trying to find it on a truck or trying to find someone else who has it, is essential,” he added.
A capital improvement plan geared toward apparatus and equipment funded the operation, the Sirois said.
The “point-and-shoot” imagers don’t require any special training and are easy to use, Sirois noted.
Another benefit of the new imagers is that they are lighter and more compact than their predecessors, making them easier to carry. The firefighters can now sling them over their backpacks while on-duty.
The plan to provide more imagers has had a positive response from the department so far, according to Sirois.
“The personnel are very excited to have them,” he said. “In addition to a major step forward in firefighter individual safety, it allows them to do their job faster and easier.”
Sirois said the next big move for the department will be to purchase two new firetrucks in the summer of 2018, which will also be funded by the capital improvement program.