Boston Area

Departments Receive Donation of 14 Imagers
 

With their distinctive last name, Paul and Phyllis Fireman have always had a special affinity to firefighters. One night last year, the couple was watching 60 Minutes when they saw a story on thermal imaging in firefighting. They immediately realized the significant impact they could have on communities in their area by supporting this technology.

Mr. Fireman, Chairman and CEO of Reebok, decided with his wife to donate about a dozen thermal imagers to communities in the Boston area through the Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation. After the amount of the donation was determined, the foundation tasked the Boston Fire Department with selecting the thermal imager that would be purchased. Captain Hugh Duffy was involved with the field test. "For us, it came down to ease of operation and user-friendliness. Firefighters are using imagers in very difficult conditions, so it's critical that they be easy to use. The Bullard imager is ergonomically designed, so it's more balanced in the hand. We also found that the four-inch LCD screen is easier to read."

The official thermal imager presentation was made at the Boston Fire Academy on Tuesday, May 18, where the Firemans presented 14 thermal imagers to fire depart-ments in Boston and seven other cities and towns in the surrounding area. After the presentation, fire instructors staged a search and rescue in a burning building to demonstrate the capabilities of the thermal imaging equipment to the media.

Melinda Marble, Executive Director of the foundation, summed up the Firemans conviction to the technology. "The proof is in the technology saves lives. They believe thermal imagers give them a very concrete way to have a strong impact with their donations."

Articles & Resources In This Issue - New Thermal Imaging Web site - Why Bullard - Tech Support - Your Stories - Newsletter - Distributor Locator - Contact Us 
Published by 

Publisher - Tom Kiddle 
Editor - Kevin Halstead 
Managing Editor - Rebecca Scholer  
Technical Advisor - Eric Bielefeld
Art Director - Kay Seithers

Get The Picture is printed in the USA and published quarterly by Bullard, an ISO 9001-certified manufacturer of personal protective equipment based in Cynthiana, Kentucky. Bullard product lines include thermal imagers, hard hats, firefighter, police and rescue helmets, supplied air respirators and air quality equipment.

For more information, contact Bullard Inside Sales at 800-227-0423 or visit Bullard's main web site at wvvw.bullard.com

Imager Protects Girl Scouts In Belchertown, Mass.

Firefighters Mark LaVallee and Ron Beaver were attending a dedication and open house for the new fire station in Belchertown, Mass., when the call came. A Girl Scout volunteer was on the phone, calling from a local church where she was involved in a scouting function.

The group smelled something burning in the church building and couldn't pinpoint the source. Beaver first advised that the Girl Scouts be calmly moved to a different part of the building, then he rushed with LaVallee to the church, carrying the Bullard Thermal Imager.

When they arrived, they smelled ozone, the first indication of an electrical fire. Firefighters were led to a classroom on the second floor where the smell was strongest. LaVallee quickly scanned each row of fluorescent lights, looking for temperature variation.

All of the lights showed as gray on the thermal imager screen until he pointed at a light in the far right corner of the room that showed as gleaming white. LaVallee and Beaver immediately dismantled the light and found that the high temperature plastic housing surrounding the ballast had liquefied, indicating extremely intense heat. Wiring was disconnected to prevent further damage.

"If the Bullard Thermal Imager hadn't been available, we would have been responding to a fire within an hour at that location," said LaVallee. "And we would have had 40 Girl Scouts to evacuate. Instead, we had a calm situation, and none of the girls even knew that there was a problem."

Boston Stages Successful Media Event


The Boston Fire Department conducted an innovative event in May to help inform the community of the donation of 14 Bullard Thermal Imagers to eight Massachusetts cities and towns. After thermal imagers were officially presented to department representatives, fire instructors staged a search and rescue in a burning building to demonstrate the capabilities of the thermal imaging equipment to the media.

Captain Hugh Duffy of the Boston Fire Department was involved with leading the event. "We set up a transmitter unit in a tent to give media the best view of what was happening inside the fire," Duffy said. "The TV stations took turns tapping into the direct feed, collecting footage that was transmitted directly from the imager. They were thrilled to get a direct feed. It was like they were actually there in the fire."

The event received excellent coverage by all four Boston TV stations and the top two Boston daily newspapers. "The more media involvement you have, the more effectively you can communicate that your department has purchased the technology," Duffy commented. "When the community knows that their fire department is advanced and progressive, they're more likely to support your needs in the future."

Free Thermal Imager "Bull"
T-Shirt to Story Contributors

Every day, the people of Bullard hear stories about how thermal imaging is transforming the work of firefighters. As an incentive to owners of Bullard imagers to send us their stories, Bullard will give a free thermal imager T-Shirt to firefighters whose stories are chosen to be featured in Get The Picture. Submit your stories via e-mail to: stories@bullard.com

Thermal Imaging Sportswear

Looking for a gift for members of your department? Instead of hitting some mail order catalog, give Bullard a call! Our new Thermal Imaging Clothing Store will help you outfit your team with apparel that demonstrates their pride in the advanced technology they use to do their work.

Some of the items available from the store include T-shirts, hats, denim shirts, jackets and polo shirts all printed with the Bullard Thermal Imager logo. Use these items to outfit your group for community events, thank firefighters for their hard work or reward their efforts after completion of training.

Orders can be placed through the new thermal imaging online store or by calling Bullard Inside Sales at 800-227-0423.

Tech Support

From Lt. Bryan Pierce, Nassau Fire Deptartment

Question: What is the best way to evaluate thermal imagers before making a purchase decision?

Answer: : Evaluating thermal imagers should be a five-step process.

1. First, do your homework to determine which imagers are worthy of your evaluation. Start by questioning departments that currently own thermal imagers, being sure to speak with departments that have used them over a period of time. Also question departments that are using newer thermal imaging technology that they have purchased within the last six months.

 

2. Investigate who the distributors are for the imagers that you are interested in evaluating. As with any product you buy, it isimportant to know the reputation of your distributor and the service capabilities of that organization.
3. Now that you have narrowed the field to a manageable number of potential products, schedule a day for classroom presentations. Give each distributor roughly 30 minutes to present their thermal imager. Try to have all of these presentations completed on the same day so that comparisons will be as accurate as possible.
4. Finally, the big day has arrived - your live burn. This is the most critical part of your evaluation, and all imagers being considered should be tested on the same day. Many promises and claims can be made about a product, but the true test is in how the product performs in a real world firefighting situation. Careful planning of your real life simulation is the key to a successful burn evaluation. Before the burn, establish the features that are most important to your department and decide specifically how you
are going to test each feature. If durability is important, do a drop test or some equivalent. Test all options you are considering, including the wireless remote. With any feature that has been promoted by the distributor, make sure you have a real world way to evaluate its effectiveness in the burn. Crawl with each imager, look under things, and pass units back and forth between firefighters. Just make sure that this part of the evaluation is your test, and not the salesperson's test.

5. When the evaluation is completed, buy the imager that best fits your needs. While price is important, this is a life saving tool that must be used to be effective. Buy the imager that you trust and will use with confidence.

From Suzie Blanchard, LA County Fire Dept.

Question: Are Nickel Metal Hydride batteries available for the Bullard?

Answer: Coming soon. By the end of the summer, Bullard will offer two more battery
options for your imager. You will be able to get NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries and Alkaline batteries.

Both have their pros and cons when you compare them to NiCd (Nickel Cadmium). NiMH batteries are becoming very popular, primarily because they have a more capacity than NiCd batteries. NiMH batteries will give you 20 to 25% more run time than NiCd batteries and do not easily build memory. When deciding if NiMH is right for your department, you should consider the frequency of replacement and the overall cost.

NiMH batteries tend to be expensive and have only 1/ 3 of the overall battery life that NiCd batteries have. If you get two years of life from a NiCd battery, you will get about eight months of life from a NiMH Battery. Battery replacement can become costly. Also, the self-discharge rate is much higher, meaning that if you store the batteries somewhere outside of the charger, they will lose their charge faster than the standard NiCd.

Alkaline batteries are not rechargeable. The only practical benefit of this type of battery is that Alkalines make a good "back up" battery. Alkalines can sit on a shelf for two years and lose a minimal amount of capacity. These batteries are handy in an emergency if your rechargeable batteries are dead and you don't have time to charge them. Store a couple of these in your thermal imager case, and you can rest assured that you will always have power for your imager.

Bullard selected NiCd batteries, based on a number of reasons. The biggest reasons, as compared to other rechargeables, are that NiCd batteries give you good run time, the slowest rate of self-discharge, the longest overall life, and they are available through almost any battery supplier.

Submit Your Story to REAL TV

Firefighters around the country face incidents every day that are
dramatic, personal and compelling. In the past, video footage of these incidents could only be taken from outside the fire. Now, by using thermal imagers with video transmitters, firefighterscan take viewers inside the fire with them.

Recognizing Bullard's expertise with video transmission, producers at REAL TV have asked us
to help collect footage from fire departments that own Bullard Thermal Imagers. Ideally, the show is seeking videotapes that capture a rescue that was made possible because of the use of thermal imaging technology. Taping at the scene is very simple for departments whose imagers are equipped with transmitters. Just hook up a standard VCR to your TV monitor and record transmitted footage directly from the thermal imager.

For fire departments that contribute footage that is actually used, REAL TV offers to make
donations - usually $1,000 for non-exclusive use and $1,500 for licensed exclusive use. To submit a tape for consideration, call REAL TV Story Coordinator Paul Fishman at 1-888-REAL TV2.

Fund Raising Tip: Call Wal-Mart

Planning a thermal imaging fundraiser?Here's a fundraising tip: Call your local Wal-Mart!
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., will match up to $2,000 for nonprofit groups that conduct fundraising events in cooperation with Wal-Mart or SAM's Club associates. Wal-Mart is encouraging stores to take part in thermal imaging fundraisers and has been involved with numerous imager drives nationwide.

To inquire about matching funds at Wal-Mart or Sam's, start by speaking with the manager of your local store. In 1997, more than 18,200 checks totaling $34 million were distributed to nonprofit groups in the U.S. that conducted fundraising events with Wal-Mart or SAM's Club. Information on fundraising and matching grants is available from the managers at local stores or by visiting the Wal-Mart Foundation online at: http://www.walmartfoundation.org

Bullard Save-A-Life Club
The Bullard Save-A-Life Club is a reward and recognition program for firefighters who save a life while using a Bullard Thermal Imager.

Firefighters who save a life will be inducted into the Bullard Save-A-Life Club, and will be presented with a plaque andcertificate documenting the life saving event.

Their stories will also be shared with other firefighters on Bullard's website and in upcoming issues of Get The Picture. Bullard Inside Sales can help you submit your story. Reach them at 800-227-0423.

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