Thermal imaging technology, funded through Safe Community program, helps firefighters save lives
On a frigid night last December, a motorist rolled his vehicle off a highway near Provost, Alta. Disoriented from the wreck, the driver wandered away into the dark.
LIFE SAVER: Handheld thermal imaging cameras help firefighters find victims, pinpoint access and exit points, and find hot spots during or after a blaze. The temperature was minus-22 Celsius and plunging.
“It was a cold night. I remember that because I was at a Christmas party and we were supposed to go caroling,” recalls Pat Stang, chief of the volunteer Macklin & District Fire Rescue, about 25 kilometres east of Provost and across the border into Saskatchewan.
Stang’s party was cut short when the Provost Fire Department called on Macklin for help. They needed more crews and another thermal imaging camera — a device that detects heat from people or objects — to help in the search for the missing driver.
More than two hours later, the man was found.
“He was already fairly well cooled off – but he was alive,” says Stang. “The cameras played an integral part in the search that night, and its successful conclusion.”
Macklin’s volunteer fire crew now has another thermal imaging camera to use in other emergencies within its own jurisdiction, an area of about 800 square miles.
The new portable, lightweight camera was purchased with a Safe Community grant from Enbridge. The infrared technology is an important tool for first responders, providing critical information in life-or-death situations. In addition to incidents like the one in December, the cameras are also invaluable on the scene of a fire. Thermal imaging cameras help firefighters find victims, pinpoint access and exit points, and find hot spots – during or after a blaze.
“It makes a huge difference in what we do,” says Stang.
Enbridge’s Safe Community program supports the heroes who represent first-response emergency services in communities near our projects and operations.
Since 2009, Safe Community has funded more than 32 grants totalling $335,000 toward the purchase of thermal imaging cameras – 12 in Alberta communities, eight in Ontario, five in Saskatchewan, four in Manitoba, and three in Quebec. The Macklin and nearby Provost fire departments are among those beneficiaries.
“We connect North Americans to the energy, and the quality of life, they’ve come to expect — and we do it safely and reliably,” says Lorna St. Thomas, Enbridge’s Manager of Community Partnerships.
“Thermal imaging cameras help give ‘sight’ to firefighters inside burning buildings. These incredible pieces of technology help protect the heroes who keep us safe every day — and, ultimately, maintain the welfare and the security of our communities. We’re proud to facilitate the purchase of these life-saving devices.”
The Macklin fire department’s new camera is a third the size of its predecessor – and, because it can be worn like a radio, enables firefighters to move more nimbly and quickly in situations where seconds matter.
“It’s a wonderful tool,” says Stang. “It’s something we probably couldn’t afford without donations from corporations like Enbridge.”
