Machine Is The Hottest Show In Town New Camera Helps Firefighters Spot Flames, Find People

From his spot on the lawn, Dave Wagner never saw smoke or flames, but he located the blaze before firefighters did.

And they were inside the burning house.

That’s because Wagner, a salesman marketing the country’s hottest new firefighting technology, was holding “The Vision” - an infrared scanner that uses heat the way a traditional camera uses light.

The hand-held machine that resembles a video camera reveals images in black and white, based on differences in temperature. It can detect heat variations down to one-fifth of 1 degree Farenheit.

Wagner showed off the $18,000 machine Saturday to more than 35 Kootenai County firefighters. They had gathered in Cougar Gulch to torch four abandoned buildings as part of a training exercise.

Adapted from military cameras used during the Gulf War to track down enemy ammunition dumps, these “thermal-imaging” devices are the latest craze in emergency services.

“Only, the stuff that was used for killing is now used for saving,” said Bryon Smith, a volunteer with the Kootenai County Fire Department.

Firefighters in Spokane recently bought two of the devices. Firefighters in Boise are expected to buy one next spring.

They use the devices to spot hard-to-find blazes or rescue people from smoke-filled homes. Police departments use them to find survivors when buildings collapse or similar disasters strike.

“When you walk into a smoke-filled room you normally can’t see a thing,” firefighter Ken Peterson said. “These things make it a lot easier to find a victim.”

The devices measure temperature wavelengths and put them on a screen. Hot things show up in white; cold things in black; the rest in shades of gray.

While the technology has been used by governments for more than two decades, it has only been commercially available for about 18 months. The devices are manufactured by a half-dozen companies, and cost up to $40,000.

“Right now, it’s the talk of the industry,” said Wagner, who works for International Safety Instruments, a company that manufactures firefighting gear. “Everybody wants one.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: RESCUE CAMERA “The Vision” is a “thermal-imaging” device that resembles a video camera. It reveals images in black and white, based on differences in temperature and can detect heat variations down to one-fifth of 1 degree Farenheit.