LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lynchburg Fire Department has used thermal technology for years, but their newest tools are a bit of an upgrade.
All eight fire stations received the latest in thermal imaging camera technology for fire assessment and suppression efforts. In total, the department purchased 15 cameras for approximately $45,000.
Kenny Turner, Battalion Chief for Lynchburg Fire, was ready to get the new cameras after some of their old cameras started becoming outdated.
“It just became pretty evident on some calls for service lately that our cameras weren’t up to the task that we needed them to be,” Turner said.
A couple months back, a committee came together to look at options for some sort of new camera. After some testing, the department decided to go with the Seek Attack Pro mode.
These are some of the features:
- 320x240 High-resolution thermal sensor
- 76,800 temperature pixels for maximum image clarity and sensitivity
- Waterproof design
- Wide 57-degree field of view
- One-button thermal operation
“This new camera picks up heat signatures individually on pixels, so if you have somebody on the floor and you have high heat above, it quickly recognizes the difference and with very fine detail it shows the victim that’s laying in on the floor,” Turner said.
The new cameras also have military-grade thermal technology, which allows the firefighters to not only see where the heat is coming from, but also see individual bodies.
“It shows the environment much sooner that the firefighters are in and it just … it’ll help keep them safe and it’ll help keep citizens safe because they will show up on these cameras as well,” Turner said.
Every of the 13 Lynchburg firetrucks will have one of the cameras. The extra two cameras will be used in training exercises for future firefighters.