Firefighting and Search and Rescue with an Infrared Thermography Camera.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Firefighting - Infrared Thermography Camera

Fighting a fire using an infrared camera makes the job a lot easier. Instead of wasting water on areas of the flaming building or car, you can focus on the hottest and put out the fire much more easily. With a thermography camera, you can see these hot spots and focus on the hottest places. Thermography shows the heat given off by different surfaces as an image. Using this image, hot and cold places can be seen in an area, and an Infrared thermography camera can show the best place to concentrate on a in a fire.

Another use for firefighting is showing victims beyond the smoke and heat. In an otherwise hostile environment that has low viewing distance, a thermography camera can be used to spot out something a firefighter or rescue worker could never see, such as a passed-out child or injured adult who is unable to move.

Another use for an Infrared thermography camera in a fire department is for wildfires. Once a wildfire appears out, many times volunteers and firefighters must comb the area for embers and other, still heated material underneath the soil. This is where a thermal imaging camera would come into use, to identify and alert firefighters when small pockets of embers are properly put out. Sweeping a field with a thermography device will condense the time needed to properly put out a fire.

Using a thermal imaging camera properly, it could not only save lives, but also grunt work in the field of firefighting, lessening the amount of time spent in the suit that can cause severe dehydration, and faster rescue times and search times for a building that's on fire. Faster rescue times mean more lives saved and less likelihood that someone caught in a fire could be reached too late. It's especially important in a place like an apartment, or dorm where it's imperative to search quickly and spend as little time as possible in each room looking in order to ensure the safety of the rescuers themselves.

Lastly, search and rescue is much faster and easier with an infrared thermography camera. While on foot, entire teams and large coordinated search efforts may never find a lost child, with a thermography camera and a helicopter, any heat sources in a wide area can be marked and a search team sent in to investigate them. Lost Hikers, Snowmobilers, and Skiers can be found easily using a thermography camera, and as opposed to traditional helicopter searches, one using a themography device will be able to see the lost individual or group, even if they're huddled next to a snowbank or hidden underneath the underbrush.

by Jonel Burge


ICI FX 160 "Firefighter" Thermal Imaging Camera

The ICI FX 160, made by Infrared Cameras Inc., is the perfect inexpensive solution for those looking for a reliable and tough infrared camera for search and rescue or firefighting applications. The ICI FX-160 is a rugged, portable, thermal imager; built to withstand extreme environments with a rating of IP 67. It has a drop test rating of 5.9 feet. Its one handed operation makes it simple and easy to use. The large 3.5” LCD display produces an exceptional image. This camera was specifically designed for firefighting applications.

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