THERMAL IMAGING CAMERAS ASSIST FIREFIGHTERS IN SAVING LIVES 

Thermal imaging is revolutionizing the way fire is fought. By allowing firefighters the ability to see in dark, dense smoke filled environments, this technology is making firefighting faster, safer and most importantly, it's saving lives.

The ability to see clearly in conditions where sight is impaired by thick smoke is achieved through thermography. Thermography is the use of an infrared imaging and measurement camera to "see" and "measure" thermal energy emitted from an object.

Thermal, or infrared energy, is light that is not visible because its wavelength is too long to be detected by the human eye; it's the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we perceive as heat. Unlike visible light, in the infrared world, everything with a temperature above absolute zero emits heat. The higher the object's temperature, the greater the IR radiation emitted. In the case of firefighting, smoke, dust and debris obscure normal vision and prevent firefighters from being able to locate the source of blaze or even trapped victims. Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) allows firefighters to see what unassisted vision cannot.

A Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) is merely a device that contains a sensor that reacts to infrared energy from surrounding objects and converts the "thermal signature" to a visible image. Infrared energy passes through smoke, unlike visible light, and the resulting image generated by a TIC allows a firefighter to see victims, navigate safely, and rapidly and effectively locate and extinguish fire source(s). The thermal images generated also provide additional information not normally seen by emergency response personnel that makes the device a useful tool for a variety of other non-fire applications.  Relative to the surrounding environment, hotter objects appear white and cooler objects appear black in the normally black and white image.

Marlow Industries' TECs Role In This Technology

The IR detectors in the cameras utilized for this application, sense minute temperature differences caused by photons (long-wave infrared radiation between 8 to 14 microns) striking their sensor surfaces. Changes in the environmental temperature around the components cause noise and adversely affect the performance of the device. Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) are utilized to temperature stabilize the IR detectors insuring that what the camera measures is resulting only from external photonic sources.

Related Information:

Firehouse.com News - Article: Thermal Imaging Camera Credited for Saving Child (October 19, 1999)

Firehouse.com News - Article: Thermal Imaging Camera Helps Save Three Kids (April 26, 2001)