Fire Department gets first of two heat cameras

Angelique Flores

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- The Fountain Valley Fire Department will be seeing

fires without all the smoke now that the first of two thermal imaging

cameras has arrived. The second camera is on its way.

“This opens up a whole new world for us,” said Fire Department Capt. Joe

Cucinotti.

Long used by the military for night vision, thermal imaging was

introduced as a tool for fire service five years ago. Looking through the

camera, firefighters can see through the dense smoke of a flame-filled

building to more quickly locate anyone who might be trapped inside.

“In a burning house, we’re blind, crawling and feeling our way around and

knocking things over,” Cucinotti said. “It’s usually luck when we find

people.”

The cameras detect the heat of objects, allowing firefighters to see the

layout of a room and the source of a fire instantly. The new cameras also

detect the heat of footprints, so firefighters can retrace an

individual’s steps and, ultimately, find the person faster.

“This ups the possibility of making a rescue or clearing people when a

roof is collapsing,” Cucinotti said.

During a training session where firefighters were required to find

objects in a burning building, the team using the new camera took just 18

seconds to find the objects that it took other teams 13 minutes to find.

Besides seeing through smoke, the cameras may also be used to spot

someone in a river at night, Cucinotti said.

Each device costs $20,000. The Fire Department raised about $2,800 in

private donations, and the rest was funded by the city. Depending on how

well the cameras perform over the coming year, the city may buy a third

one.The Fire Department is now drafting a policy on how to safely and

effectively handle the cameras. Every firefighter in the department will

be trained on how to use them. They are expected to be ready for use in

the field within the next two weeks.