ELKS MAKE DONATION TOWARD THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA

Firefighters face no bigger danger than the lack of visibility brought on by smoke and darkness inside of burning structures.

Jackson Fire Rescue has taken a step closer to solving that problem. Wednesday the department accepted a $750 check from the Jackson Elks Lodge # 2652, which goes toward the purchase of a thermal imaging camera. The department, with help from local groups like the Elks and Wal-Mart, have more than half the $18,00-20,000 price tag covered.

"It allows us to look through smoke to find anyone who might be trapped in a fire," said Chief Brad Golden. "It also allows you to find hot spots behind a wall."

Jackson Fire Rescue is currently borrowing one of the cameras from Battalion Three, Inc., of Arnold. The men have been pleased with the camera.

The camera has a rubber piece that fits flush with their helmets, allowing them to see the camera's screen. The camera then picks up on hot spots. A hot area appears in white. As personnel demonstrated, a person's hand print on a wall (or footprints/crawl prints on a carpet) are visible for several minutes after they are made.

"This can really help find someone who may have been trying to crawl along the floor, during a ire," Golden said.

The camera may also have outdoor uses.

"It can be used if someone is lost outside at night," Golden said. "Such as a person wondering away from a nursing home. It would greatly aid the search."

A separate monitor allows someone outside a burning structure to see the same thing the men with the camera are seeing. This is a tremendous aid to the rescue of trapped fire personnel.

JFR personnel looked at several different models of thermal imaging cameras. The cameras came about from technology gained during Operation Desert Storm.