Writing this column has been a privilege. Each month, I get to share my knowledge and love of firefighting training with you to help keep you safe. Many of you have reached out to me during the past couple of years to share your experiences fighting fires using thermal imaging technology. Thank you for sharing.

With my increasing responsibilities in the fire service, this will be my last column. My thanks to Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment and all the folks at the magazine for letting me share my thermal imaging camera (TIC) training insights with you. My final column is a compilation of thermal imaging camera safety tips that I have shared over the years. Stay safe and train every day, and always look out for one another.

THREE-PASS SCAN TECHNIQUE

Using your TIC to scan a room when entering a smoke-filled structure is critical to staying safe. Once you enter the structure, scan the room with your TIC using a three-pass technique. The first pass is across the ceiling looking for heat accumulation, potential vent points, and structural integrity. The second pass is across the middle of the room looking at the physical layout and its contents as well as the location of any secondary egress points. The third pass is across the floor looking for collapsed victims and any special hazards. All three scans take less than 10 seconds but are important to maintaining proper orientation with your TIC.

FLASHOVERS

In a flashover situation, fire conditions progress rapidly from what was a hot fire to what becomes an inescapable fire. As an instructor, I have heard firefighters say that a TIC can help you during a flashover. This is not true. A TIC is a tool to help detect a flashover, but it can’t help you if you’re caught in a flashover. You have to move quickly. You don’t have time to look at your TIC. A preflashover situation is where your TIC can help. Your TIC can give you a visual indication of warning signs that you would otherwise not see. Without the use of a TIC, the thick smoke acts as a visual barrier to what is actually going on above you. Convective velocity, thermal layering, and even rollovers are often hidden inside the smoke and are difficult or impossible to detect. The TIC can hel