By Carl Nix

Firefighters are often thrown into situations that require them to make decisions based on what they see or think they see.

I was speaking with a fellow firefighter who shared a story with me about a recent call his crew responded to. It was a call to a local business whose fire alarm had activated. On arrival, the firefighters used the thermal imaging camera (TIC) to scan the interior walls of the business and noticed a hot spot on one wall. The crew decided to open up the wall; instead of finding what they thought would be a smoldering fire, they found a hot water heater on the other side of the wall.

When using a TIC to locate hidden fires, firefighters should look for anomalies in the thermal signature of surfaces that cannot be explained by ordinary heat sources. The shape of the thermal anomaly is important to understand. If the image shows straight sides, it most likely suggests a heat source between studs of some other structural component. A change in the shape, particularly vertical growth, suggests the fire may be intensifying. When using a TIC, it is very helpful to look for thermal comparisons when investigating an area. Firefighters can compare the area being investigated with other areas and make determinations.

1 Thermal imaging cameras can help firefighters detect hidden fires by scanning the exterior of a structure. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Concealed fires can be obvious, manifesting in such ways as blistering paint, smoke emitting from a wall, or cracking sounds from combustion. A smaller fire, however, may not offer obvious clues to its exact location within the structure. Sometimes the fire is out of plain sight, complicating the process of detection, containment, and suppression. To distinguish abnormal from normal, firefighters should consider what ordinary heat sources could be and how they may be impacting thermal signatures. Some examples include a working appliance on the other side of the wall, active heat ducts inside the wall, and outside sunlight affecting the area and warming it.

The crew who busted through the wall only to find a water heater could have prevented unnecessary damage to the business if members had just looked behind the adjacent door. The use of thermal imaging technology in firefighting is second to none, but firefighters must always use their judgment and experience first before relying solely on thermal imaging technology.

2 Thermal imaging cameras can help firefighters detect hidden fires by scanning the exterior of a structure. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

A TIC, without a doubt, can simplify and expedite the task at hand when searching interiors of a structure looking for hidden fire conditions. A firefighter can scan the interior wall and ceiling surfaces of a structure for signs of abnormal heat from a distance of at least 10 to 15 feet away, providing a broad perspective of possible hidden heat conditions. Concealed or void space fires frequently involve electrical circuits or equipment. Use your TIC to perform a thermal scan on an electric

By Carl Nix

Firefighters are often thrown into situations that require them to make decisions based on what they see or think they see.

I was speaking with a fellow firefighter who shared a story with me about a recent call his crew responded to. It was a call to a local business whose fire alarm had activated. On arrival, the firefighters used the thermal imaging camera (TIC) to scan the interior walls of the business and noticed a hot spot on one wall. The crew decided to open up the wall; instead of finding what they thought would be a smoldering fire, they found a hot water heater on the other side of the wall.

When using a TIC to locate hidden fires, firefighters should look for anomalies in the thermal signature of surfaces that cannot be explained by ordinary heat sources. The shape of the thermal anomaly is important to understand. If the image shows straight sides, it most likely suggests a heat source between studs of some other structural component. A change in the shape, particularly vertical growth, suggests the fire may be intensifying. When using a TIC, it is very helpful to look for thermal comparisons when investigating an area. Firefighters can compare the area being investigated with other areas and make determinations.

1 Thermal imaging cameras can help firefighters detect hidden fires by scanning the exterior of a structure. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Concealed fires can be obvious, manifesting in such ways as blistering paint, smoke emitting from a wall, or cracking sounds from combustion. A smaller fire, however, may not offer obvious clues to its exact location within the structure. Sometimes the fire is out of plain sight, complicating the process of detection, containment, and suppression. To distinguish abnormal from normal, firefighters should consider what ordinary heat sources could be and how they may be impacting thermal signatures. Some examples include a working appliance on the other side of the wall, active heat ducts inside the wall, and outside sunlight affecting the area and warming it.

The crew who busted through the wall only to find a water heater could have prevented unnecessary damage to the business if members had just looked behind the adjacent door. The use of thermal imaging technology in firefighting is second to none, but firefighters must always use their judgment and experience first before relying solely on thermal imaging technology.

2 Thermal imaging cameras can help firefighters detect hidden fires by scanning the exterior of a structure. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

A TIC, without a doubt, can simplify and expedite the task at hand when searching interiors of a structure looking for hidden fire conditions. A firefighter can scan the interior wall and ceiling surfaces of a structure for signs of abnormal heat from a distance of at least 10 to 15 feet away, providing a broad perspective of possible hidden heat conditions. Concealed or void space fires frequently involve electrical circuits or equipment. Use your TIC to perform a thermal scan on an electric

By Carl Nix

Firefighters are often thrown into situations that require them to make decisions based on what they see or think they see.

I was speaking with a fellow firefighter who shared a story with me about a recent call his crew responded to. It was a call to a local business whose fire alarm had activated. On arrival, the firefighters used the thermal imaging camera (TIC) to scan the interior walls of the business and noticed a hot spot on one wall. The crew decided to open up the wall; instead of finding what they thought would be a smoldering fire, they found a hot water heater on the other side of the wall.

When using a TIC to locate hidden fires, firefighters should look for anomalies in the thermal signature of surfaces that cannot be explained by ordinary heat sources. The shape of the thermal anomaly is important to understand. If the image shows straight sides, it most likely suggests a heat source between studs of some other structural component. A change in the shape, particularly vertical growth, suggests the fire may be intensifying. When using a TIC, it is very helpful to look for thermal comparisons when investigating an area. Firefighters can compare the area being investigated with other areas and make determinations.

1 Thermal imaging cameras can help firefighters detect hidden fires by scanning the exterior of a structure. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Concealed fires can be obvious, manifesting in such ways as blistering paint, smoke emitting from a wall, or cracking sounds from combustion. A smaller fire, however, may not offer obvious clues to its exact location within the structure. Sometimes the fire is out of plain sight, complicating the process of detection, containment, and suppression. To distinguish abnormal from normal, firefighters should consider what ordinary heat sources could be and how they may be impacting thermal signatures. Some examples include a working appliance on the other side of the wall, active heat ducts inside the wall, and outside sunlight affecting the area and warming it.

The crew who busted through the wall only to find a water heater could have prevented unnecessary damage to the business if members had just looked behind the adjacent door. The use of thermal imaging technology in firefighting is second to none, but firefighters must always use their judgment and experience first before relying solely on thermal imaging technology.

2 Thermal imaging cameras can help firefighters detect hidden fires by scanning the exterior of a structure. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

A TIC, without a doubt, can simplify and expedite the task at hand when searching interiors of a structure looking for hidden fire conditions. A firefighter can scan the interior wall and ceiling surfaces of a structure for signs of abnormal heat from a distance of at least 10 to 15 feet away, providing a broad perspective of possible hidden heat conditions. Concealed or void space fires frequently involve electrical circuits or equipment. Use your TIC to perform a thermal scan on an electric

By Alan M. Petrillo

When DP3 Architects Ltd. of Greenville, South Carolina, sat down with its new client at the other end of the state, the town of Surfside Beach, it faced working out a master plan for renovating or building a new fire station, police station, town hall, and civic center on a single site.

Once it completed the master plan for the town, planners decided to focus on a new fire station as the building that would define the vision for the future of the entire campus.

1 DP3 Architects Ltd. of Greenville, South Carolina, built a new fire station for the Surfside Beach (SC) Fire Department whose design allowed them to place three floors into the station that looks like a two-story building. [Photos courtesy of Surfside Beach (SC) Fire Department.]

Space Constraints

Michael T. Pry, AIA, LEED AP, senior associate at DP3 Architects, says his firm was provided with single-line plans drawn up by a firefighter showing a building of about 25,000 square feet that included a lot of town functions beyond firefighting. “We did an assessment of the town’s space needs and drew up a preliminary site master plan for the campus to include the town hall, police station, municipal court, citizen wellness center, and fire station,” Pry says. “After looking at the budget, we suggested focusing on the fire station only.”

Pry notes that DP3 Architects considered a one-story fire station option but discarded that idea because of the land needs for the other buildings on the campus. “We decided to go vertical instead of horizontal with the fire station,” he says. “The final design came in at 14,275 feet, encompassing two full levels and two half mezzanines that create a third floor in the building.”

2 The Surfside Beach Fire Department apparatus bays hold a 2010 HME pumper, a rear-mount 2010 HME ladder tower, a KME pumper, a Sterling light rescue, an inflatable rescue boat, a jet ski, and a Horry County (SC) medic unit.

DP3 Architects also faced trying to fit a three-story building into the small beach community because the site sits eight blocks away from the Atlantic Ocean. “We tucked the third floor, where the dormitories are located, under the building’s roof,” Pry points out. “The apparatus bays are on the ground floor, and with the two-story volume of those bays we created two mezzanines, one on each side of the apparatus bay space.”

Station Features

Kevin Otte, Surfside Beach Fire Department chief, says the department outgrew the old station, which was built in 1964, in terms of space and training facilities with its four single-deep apparatus bays. “We wanted double-deep drive-through bays on the new station; a separation of male and female dormitory quarters; and a large training room, which would double as the town’s emergency operations center,” Otte says.

The new station has admin