“Having Trouble Locating the Fire?”

“Having Trouble Locating the Fire?” In many LODD reports, this is listed as a contributing factor. The reasons are many but the common problem they all shared was a lack of thermal imaging use. Firefighters who are having trouble finding the fire without a TIC often resort to “opening up. ”Windows, Doors, and other ventilation openings are made without thought of fire growth. Then the fire suddenly finds them…This should not surprise us. We have just completed the fire triangle. If a fire is in a ventilation controlled/ventilation limited state, it is lacking one critical element: Air. Ventilation without proper coordination of suppression can lead to disastrous consequences. As shown in the following video, these firefighters encountered low to zero visibility. However, by proper interpretation of the thermal data they identified the convection currents moving across the ceiling and were able to locate the seat of the fire. This accomplishes two objectives:* Faster extinguishment* And the search crew can start their search based off of actual thermal severity versus an educated guess.

Stay Intelligently Aggressive!
Instructor Andy Starnes
Insight Training LLC
Level II Thermography Certified