By Alan M. Petrillo

Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) have evolved into required equipment for firefighters.

With improvements in technology, they have gotten smaller, easier to use, and even less costly in many cases. Recent developments have seen TICs integrated into self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), leaving a firefighter’s hands free for other tasks.

Bullard

1 A firefighter uses the Bullard NXT TIC, which has an eight-hour battery run time. (Photo courtesy of Bullard.)

David Frye, product manager for thermal imaging at Bullard, points out that its newest lines of TICs are the NXT and the QXT models, both introduced late in 2016. “These represent our first venture for a TIC with an internal battery that wirelessly charges,” Frye says. “The units also have a greater battery run time than other models—about eight hours without video recording going. The TICs have an internal coil, and there’s a coil in the charger. When you put them together, they charge wirelessly. It takes about 2½ hours to give the TIC a full charge.”

Frye notes that the NXT is designed to meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1801, Standard on Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service, while the QXT is designed “for fire departments that don’t want all the bells and whistles required by the standard. In the QXT we have more flexibility in the buttons used to activate features on the thermal imaging camera.” Other models Bullard makes are the Eclipse and the LDX, which fit in the palm of a hand. “We wanted them as compact as possible, and they have D-rings so the TICs can be hooked to SCBA harnesses or to retractable straps.”

2 A firefighter makes entry to a structure carrying an Avon Protection Argus Mi-TIC 320 TIC. (Photo courtesy of Avon Protection.)

3M Scott Safety

John Graves, global product manager of thermal imaging solutions for 3M Scott Safety, says that his company developed Scott Sight, a system that combines a TIC with a display in the lower right area of its SCBA face piece. “A firefighter doesn’t have the need for reaching down and lifting a camera up,” Graves points out. “Firefighters can have both hands free for effective communication, victim extrication, fire suppression, and carrying tools.”

Graves says the 8½-ounce Scott Sight fits any AV-3000 HT face piece; has an adjustable display; has an in-mask display (IMD) instantaneous on, simultaneous power off for the IMD and the TIC; has a standby mode; and has a four-hour minimum battery life powered by AAA batteries. Scott Sight also has a mobile app that allows customization of the system’s various features.

3M Scott Safety also offers handheld TICs that it offers via its purchase of ISG in 2014, Graves notes. “Our most popular handheld TIC is the X380, an NF