Department Budget is Source of Three TIs
Abbotsford strip mall fire where firefighters avoided
dangerous path with aid of TI
Abbotsford, British Columbia (pop. 115,000) -- The Abbotsford Fire Department has three thermal imagers, purchased over the course of three years from the department’s budget. By strategically distributing these TIs throughout this city of 125,000, the department is able to have all three imagers at every working structure fire. Capt. Dean Larivee, the department’s training officer, was involved in selling the technology to the department board.
“I told them that about 30 years ago, a few gentlemen came along and invented a device that allows firefighters to breathe in the smoke: the SCBA,” he recounted. “And about 25 years later, someone recognized that the military technology of thermal imaging could be used in the fire service, and a device was invented that allowed us to see. Now we have the perfect attack combo: we can see and breathe in smoke.”
Capt. Larivee says his justification for thermal imagers involved explaining the advantages of the technology in finding fires, keeping firefighters safer on the job and rescuing trapped people. “With the help of thermal imagers, firefighters aren’t out as long on each call, and they’re not as susceptible to injury,” he said. “Rather than surrounding and drowning a burning structure, we establish the origin point quickly, expose the fire and knock it down. We end up with a safer, better-responding fire department.”
The department’s first thermal imager proved its worth soon after it was purchased. At 1:30 a.m. on February 25, 2000, Abbotsford firefighters were called to the scene of a fire at a strip mall on the west side of the city. When they arrived, heavy white plumes of smoke furled above the three businesses that were housed in the building. A neighbor near the strip mall had spotted the smoke coming from the building and phoned 911.
Two teams of firefighters were sent into the building -- one to the main floor and another to the upper floor. Equipped with their TI, the team on the main floor easily navigated their way through the smoke-filled building, scanning the rooms as they went. When they reached one of the offices within Dew Drop Donuts, they scanned the floor and saw a brilliant white spot. Acting Capt. Neil Varrault was on the scene that night, and said that the TI helped firefighters quickly determine that the fire had originated in the basement, and it helped them avoid putting themselves in danger.
Capt. Larivee noted that the use of the thermal imager at this fire greatly increased firefighter safety. “We didn’t have to put our guys into a situation that may have led to injury,” Larivee said. “If they didn’t have this tool, they would have been crawling from room to room through the heavy smoke. And it’s quite possible that one of the firefighters would have fallen through the floor.”
Assistant Chief Mike Helmer of the Abbotsford Fire Department is currently working with the Abbotsford Lions Club to purchase a fourth thermal imager that will be placed with the rapid intervention team. Chief Helmer says a tight department budget pushed the department to seek a partnership to raise the money required. Chief Helmer first approached the Lions Club when he spoke at one of their meetings in April 2003. The two organizations are now working as partners to plan an event in October that features local country music entertainers, a dinner, and a silent auction. Their aim is to raise $20,000 in one night.
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“Civic clubs are great partners because they want to help their communities,” he said. “Our mission and goals are very similar. And what better way to help them than through one of your emergency services.”
Asked to give advice for other departments forming partnerships with civic clubs, Chief Helmer noted the importance of clear communications and defined roles. “We involved a team of people and started delegating from the word go. Everyone has specific roles, and we meet monthly. Getting information first-hand means less communication breakdown.”
Funding Tip:
Don’t attempt to do everything yourself. Build
a team, and assign responsibilities to team members. Use
the individual skills and talents of team members to plan
and carry out your campaign. Consider teaming up with a civic
club to raise money.