Thermal imaging camera

They are constructed using heat- and water-resistant housings, and ruggedized to withstand the hazards of fireground operations, often meeting the requirements of NFPA 1801, Standard on Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service.

[8] Since thermal imaging cameras can "see" through darkness or smoke, they allow firefighters to quickly find the seat of a structure fire, or see the heat signature of visually obscured victims.

[4] Thermal imaging cameras were credited with saving multiple lives per year through victim identification and removal from low visibility conditions as early as 1999.

[12] In another, Tennessee firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to detect a hidden fire inside a cinder railroad bed, resulting in an estimated $500,000 cost avoidance.

An additional limitation of infrared technology is that since materials at the same temperature are shown as the same color, the display will not depict many details normally viewable in visible light.

While thermal imaging technology has long been in use in specialized law enforcement and military applications,[4] its acceptance by the fire service has been hampered by the cost of the cameras.

[21] While rapidly becoming standard in naval firefighting following the sinking of HMS Sheffield, thermal imaging remained specialist equipment in the civilian fire services through into the 1990s.

[23] Fire departments have pursued various sources and methods to fund thermal imaging cameras including direct budgeting,[6] grants,[9] and charity donations,[24] among others.

[6] Thermal imaging cameras are routinely assigned to Rapid Intervention Teams, to enable them to more effectively reach and free trapped firefighters.

[29] One of the recommendations of the Charleston Sofa Super Store fire post incident assessment and review team was "the purchase of a standard model thermal imaging camera for each engine and ladder company".