Every active firefighter prepared to go into fire conditions will now be equipped with the thermal imaging technology, which will "speed up the search for any trapped victims, and will certainly save a life in the future," Bayonne fire Chief Keith Weaver said.
Prior to the purchase, the city had 12 active cameras -- one for each captain on a rig, officials said. This meant that fellow firefighters entering fire conditions had to follow the captain in order to get a view of their surroundings in heavy smoke conditions.
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"The captains had the old ones and we would follow his direction; we're usually right with him, looking at his camera, while he tells us where to shoot the water," Â said Brian Bomba, a firefighter with the department. "Now that we all have these, we'll be able to see what he sees."