LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lynchburg Fire Department is ready to answer the call no matter how difficult.
The department has some new technology that will take their eyes and ears to new places.
It’s a handheld 360-degree camera with flashlights ready to be used in any situation.
“It’s just something that we knew that we needed for the technical rescue team. It can be used in collapsed situations. It can be used in swift water operations,” said battalion chief Kenny Turner.
On Wednesday Turner and other members of the tactical team were called out to help Amherst County fire agencies pull out a truck submerged in the James River after a man drove his car into the water.
The man made it out safely, but first responders had to make sure there was no one else in the truck.
Videos shows firefighters sticking the waterproof camera into the car looking for a person.
Luckily, the only thing the tool could find was a helmet.
“It’s just a versatile camera. Something we had on our wish list for a long time,” Turner said.
A long-awaited purchase that ranges from $10,000 to $12,000 dollars.
“Absolutely, it was worth it,” Turner said.
A valuable cost that Turner said will soon help save a life.
“This is the first time that we used it. We had the camera in operations about a week and it worked pretty well,” Turner said.
The Amherst County Sheriff Office told 10 News the man driving the truck is OK and was charged with public intoxication.