Get The Picture November 1999

Toddler Pulled From Blaze in Franklin, Indiana

Two year-old Zachary Sheets was lying face down in the hallway outside of his blazing bedroom, barely breathing, when firefighters arrived on the scene, Two firefighters charged through smoke into Zachary's room, knocking down the fire with their hoseline and beginning a search of the room on their hands and knees.

Mark Hash arrived with the second unit and rushed into the house with the Bullard Thermal Imager. Within seconds of entering, he saw the heat signature of Zachary's body on the screen of thecamera, tapped Firefighter Tim Coble for assistance and quickly removed the toddler.

Firefighter Mark Hash recounted the rescue from his perspective. "We all thought that the baby was in his room, but he was just outside in the hallway. Firefighters had been in there before I came in with the camera. They'd been within two feet of him and didn't see him. Hash continued, He jumped right out at me. There was no mistaking him for anything else. In the screen of the camera, he looked like a baby doll as plain as day lying on the floor."

Zachary's father , Christopher Sheets, credits the firefighters and the thermal imaging camera for saving Zachary's life. "That camera is what saved my son's life," Sheets said. "I was in a state of panic. I didn't know what to do. Friends of mine had gone in and tried to findZacharyand they were five feet from him and couldn't see him. When the fire department got there, they were in and out in 30 seconds.

Zachary's 3 and 4 year-old brothers had started a fire in his bedroom closet with a cigarette lighter. After Sheets discovered the fire, he evacuated his two older sons but was unable to retrieve the youngest because he couldn't navigate through the thick smoke that had permeated the house. As of newsletter printing, Zachary was in critical but stable condition in the burn unit at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

Zachary Sheets Fund

A fund has been set up to help the Sheet family pay for Zachary's medical expenses, replace the items the family lost in the fire, and to assist with ongoing expenses associated with Zachary's recovery. If your department would like to make a donation, please make out the check to "Civitas Bank" with "Zachary Sheets Fund" in the memo blank. Send the check to the following address: Zachary Sheets Fund , Civitas Bank , Attn: Stephanie Dixon , 106 North SR 135 , Greenwood, IN 46142

Articles & Resources In This Issue - Dramatic Saves - Safe-IR Training - Media Kit - Save-A-Life Club - Media Kit - Letter from the Editor - Bullard Store - Free Screen Saver

Published by 

Publisher - Tom Kiddle 
Editor - Kevin Halstead 
Managing Editor - Jennifer Marsh 
Chief Writer - Rebecca Scholer 
Technical Advisor - Mike Richardson 
Graphic Artist - Denise Fuson

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

Letter From the Editor
Since the last issue of Get The Picture was published, much has happened in the world of firefighters who use Bullard Thermal Imaging Cameras. Four departments have saved the lives of civilians while using the Bullard camera, in incidents taking place in Franklin, Ind., Midland, Texas, Charlottesville, Va., and Union Center, N. Y. One department near Lansing, Mich., used the camera to guard the safety of firefighters in an incident similar to the one that took place in Granbury, Texas last December.

Bullard would like to thank all of the firefighters who were involved in these incidents for their fine work in using thermal imaging technology for its highest purpose in preserving human life. We appreciate your reliance on Bullard to provide you with this critical life-saving technology, and we commend your departments for their effective use of the Bullard Thermal Imaging Camera.

We invite you to submit your stories, ideas and questions for the next issue of Get The Picture by sending an email to kevin_halstead@bullard.com.

Kevin Halstead

Bullard Offers Training
Through SAFE-IR

Like any tool, a thermal imager is only as good as the operator using it,
so it's critical that operators are properly trained. As of November, Bullard is offering a two-day course through SAFE-IR, a specialized thermal imaging training company that will send its representatives to your community to help instruct your firefighters to use this technology effectively. The first day of this course is spent in a classroom where members of the fire department learn about thermal imaging theory, applications and tactical considerations, as well as receiving instruction on the functions of the Bullard Thermal Imager. On the second day, firefighters selected by the department will receive one-on-one instruction using their Bullard Thermal Imagers in live fire training.

Sessions are geared to the level of the firefighters that are being trained, enabling them to better understand and become comfortable with the Bullard Thermal Imager.The program can be ordered up front with the purchase of Bullard Thermal Imaging equipment, or independently as a stand-alone training program after your department has received its Bullard Thermal Imagers.

Bullard and SAFE-IR will coordinate all the logistical arrangements with your department. For more information, go here or call Bullard's Inside Sales Department at 800-227-0423.

Free Imager 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 yourstories via email to: stories@bullard.com

Bullard Hires Thermal Imaging
Instructor

Bullard is proud to introduce the newest member of the thermal imaging team, Mike Richardson, Thermal Imaging Training Specialist. Mike comes to
Bullard with 14 years of military and fire service experience. He has served as both a paid and volunteer firefighter, as well as an instructor for NY State and Eastern Kentucky University's Fire and Safety program. Mike has a BS in Fire & Safety Engineering Technology and a MS in Loss Prevention and Safety, as well as being a NY State certified Firefighter, Fire Officer and Instructor.

Most importantly, he has a number of years of hands-on experience with thermal imaging technology. As Bullard's Thermal Imaging Training Specialist, Mike will work with local and state training facilities to develop thermal imaging training programs, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that firefighters have the knowledge necessary to safely and efficiently use the Bullard Thermal Imager. Within the company, he will train Bullard's field sales force and distributors so they can more effectively instruct their customers on the basics of thermal imaging.

Check out Mike's new training section on the Bullard Thermal Imager web site.

Bullard Offers Media Kit
Bullard has prepared a set of media materials to help communities generate publicity for thermal
imaging by getting the word out through the local media. This kit includes several written documents that provide information for general media, along with a video news release that furnishes television news programs with the footage they need to construct a feature story on thermal imaging.

If your community is interested in involving the media, the first step is to check out the materials on the Bullard Thermal Imager web site Media Center. In addition, a public information officer kit is available from Bullard. This kit includes a full media package, along with written materials on disk that can be customized to fit the needs of your department. You can order your media materials by calling Pam Howard at 800-227-0423, ext. 114.

Thermal Imager Helps Three Michigan Firefighters Avoid Fall At 1 a. m. on July 8, Michigan's Delta Township Fire Department responded to a call about a fire at a ranch style house just outside of the Lansing city limits. When firefighters arrived, the structure was filled with heavy smoke, and the fire was burning through the roof. Firefighters were uncertain about whether anyone was trapped inside. Fire Marshall Paul Fabiano led with the Bullard Thermal Imager, accompanied by firefighters David Boomer and Kevin Leverett from the department's search and rescue team. Initial entry was made through the garage. Karyn Hester, Geoffrey Larsen, and Mike Martin followed behind with a hoseline to protect the team and their escape route. "The kitchen was black with smoke, so we couldn't see anything without the camera," Fabiano said. "When I scanned the room, I saw that the first part of the kitchen floor was still intact, but the center of the floor was completely gone. So we turned around and made entry through the front door." Fabiano continued, "Firefighters are trained to "sound" or test the floor while crawling along. In the heat of the excitement and with the possibility of trapped people, the firefighters may have hurried and actually gone through the floor." Each of the firefighters involved credited the Bullard Thermal Imager with helping them avoid a potentially tragic accident. Lessons Learned: A thermal imager should enhance, not replace, basic firefighting tactics, such as sounding and crawling. Remember to scan the floor with your imager as part of the six-sided scanning method. As shown by Delta Township firefighters in the story above, this provides valuable information on the condition of the area.

Canadian Firefighters Avoid Risk by Using Thermal Imaging Camera Firefighters in the Abbotsford Fire and Rescue Service, located outside of Vancouver, had just returned from fighting a house fire on October 1 when they got a call about a car running off a road into a drainage ditch. Firefighters arrived on the scene about 20 minutes after the accident. After they identified the location of the partially-submerged car, they scanned the vehicle with the Bullard Thermal Imaging Camera they had borrowed from their fire distributor, Wildfire Fire Equipment. The image on the screen showed heat from the engine block and handprints leading off the roof of the car. They immediately knew that the driver had pulled himself out of the vehicle. Scanning the bank, firefighters could see a trail of footprints leading away from the car. A few minutes later, the driver was found down the road, and it was verified that no one else was in the vehicle. Captain Dean Larivee commented on the use of the camera. "We all think of thermal imaging cameras as tools for firefighting, but they can be used for just about anything that involves heat. We determined from that incident that thermal imagers are also very good rescue tools. The fact that we quickly learned that no one was in the car allowed us to avoid sending one of our own guys into the water to search - so we avoided the danger involved with conducting an underwater search," Larivee said. "We ordered our own Bullard Thermal Imaging camera the next week." Lessons Learned: This incident illustrates that users must be aware of the capabilities and limitations of thermal imaging. Trained operators know that IR radiation cannot travel through water, and that wet footprints left on the ground have a different signature than the surrounding ground. By applying the technology in this way, firefighters can track the movements of victims who escape from the scene of an accident, as demo-strated by the Abbotsford Fire Department.

Man Rescued from House Fire With Help of Thermal Imager When Charlottesville Firefighter Mike Oprandy forced open the door of the burning house, the smoke was so thick that he might as well have had his eyes shut. Somewhere in that house was Jesse Wicks, and Oprandy knew that he would find him. Crawling along the floor with his Bullard Thermal Imager, Oprandy searched the first level of the structure in less than a minute in zero visibility. Oprandy and another firefighter, Clinton Wingfield, moved swiftly to the second level of the home, finding the stairs easily with the imager. When they forced open the door at the top of the stairs, Wicks was found on his bed. The two firefighters safely removed him to the fresh air outside. Battalion Chief Charles L. Werner said thermal imaging technology was critical in saving the 43 year-old man's life. "Without the imager, it would have taken us five minutes to search through the thick smoke before going to the second floor. And after five minutes, Mr. Wicks would have suffered serious injury and most likely would have died from smoke inhalation." The city honored Oprandy and Wingfield in a ceremony held on Sept. 3 at the city fire depart-ment. Bullard Regional Sales Manager Greg Steller presented the department with an honorary plaque, inducting the Charlottesville Fire Department into Bullard's Save-A-Life Club. Lessons Learned: When conducting a search with a thermal imaging camera, it is easy to forget about maintaining reference points such as a handline or exterior wall. Charlottesville has chosen to deploy a Rescue/ Tag Rope when standard reference points will not be used. This ensures that firefighters have an escape route readily identified.

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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