Editor's Note: Due to a scheduling error, our August Roundtable ran in July. To see that question, which concerns tornado response policy,CLICK HERE.
By John 'Skip' Coleman
I remember when Toledo got their firstthermal imagers. Two or three helmet mounted imagers. They stayed in the box most of the time after the "newness" wore off. We eventually got some smaller hand-held imagers. To the best of my recollection, they too were not widely used. As you may be aware, I teach a little concerning search. I have written a book about the subject. When I teach, the question ofimagerscomes up from time to time. I will be discussing search techniques and someone raises their hand and then says "Hey! What about imagers?" I usually respond "What aboutimagers?" Now, I don't want to sound like an old retired firefighter but, as yet, I am not convinced that theimageris as good now as it will be someday. Usually, most departments that have them have only one per apparatus. Someday, every firefighter will have a built-in imager in the lens of his or her SCBA face piece. Until then, they are a tool with limited capabilities.Question: Does your department have thermal imaging cameras, and when do you actually use one? Also, does your department have a written policy concerning imager use?
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