techforward

Seeing the Difference: How Thermal Imaging Is Changing the Fire Service

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 18:45:34 GMT

Not that long ago, firefighting relied almost entirely on instinct, training, and teamwork, and

while those fundamentals haven’t changed, the tools certainly have. Over the years, thermal

imaging cameras (TICs) have evolved from bulky, specialty equipment into something that’s

now becoming standard on fire trucks across the country.

Seek Thermal has been fortunate to see that evolution up close, and to play a role in making

high-quality, affordable thermal cameras available to more firefighters than ever before.

From Heavy Gear to Everyday Tools

When thermal imaging first entered the fire service, the cameras were large, heavy, and

expensive. Only a few departments could afford them, and often only officers or chief vehicles

carried them. The concept was revolutionary, seeing heat through smoke and darkness, but the

technology was limited by its size and cost.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and the picture looks very different. Cameras are now smaller,

lighter, and far more affordable. In many departments, firefighters are carrying TICs the size of a

cell phone. That shift alone has transformed how firefighters work. Thermal imaging isn’t just a

specialty tool anymore; it’s part of the standard gear lineup, as essential as an SCBA or a radio.

Smarter, Faster, and More Affordable Technology

Today’s thermal imaging cameras don’t just show heat. They deliver clearer, faster, and more

stable images than ever before. Advancements in sensor design and software processing have

made cameras more responsive, meaning firefighters see real-time detail without lag or image

“whiteout” when moving between hot and cool areas.

At the same time, manufacturing innovations have made these improvements more cost-

effective. What once cost tens of thousands of dollars can now fit within a department’s annual

equipment budget, allowing even smaller and volunteer departments to equip their crews.

Seek Thermal has focused on developing cameras that deliver professional-grade clarity and

durability while keeping the price within reach. Because when every firefighter has access to

thermal vision, not just the officer holding the single camera, the entire crew benefits. The more

people who can “see” what’s happening through smoke and heat, the safer and faster the

response becomes.

The Rise of Situational Awareness Cameras

One of the biggest steps forward in recent years has been the rise of situational awareness

cameras. Smaller, simpler TICs designed for quick assessments, exterior operations, and backup

visibility. These aren’t just for interior fire attack; they’re for seeing the full picture of the

incident scene.

Situational awareness cameras have changed how firefighters size up a scene, locate hotspots,

and monitor fire behavior in real time. They’ve also become a key safety tool, helping

firefighters regain orientation when visibility drops to zero and reducing mayday incidents

related to disorientation.

Cameras like Seek’s FirePRO Series were built with this exact purpose in mind. To support

firefighters inside and outside the structure by providing clear, reliable imaging in a compact,

rugged design. Whether it’s being used during overhaul, exterior size-up, or search operations, a

situational awareness camera gives crews the visibility they need to make smart, informed

decisions.

Supporting the Future of Firefighting

Thermal imaging cameras have come a long way. From heavy, single-use tools to compact,

affordable, and essential firefighting equipment. They’ve improved not only how fires are fought

but also how firefighters stay safe doing it.

Seek Thermal is proud to support that progress. Every camera designed, from situational

awareness cameras like the FirePRO Series to tactical, interior-focused options like the

AttackPRO Series, is built around one goal: helping firefighters see more, decide faster, and

come home safely.

Because technology should never replace experience, it should strengthen it. And that’s exactly

what modern thermal imaging does on the fireground every single day.

For more information on Seek Thermal’s line up of thermal imaging cameras for the fire service,

visit their website here: https://www.thermal.com/firefighting.html

PPV Fans

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 15:39:47 GMT

Why Fan Size and Performance Matters

Ventilation is the process of airflow entering a system, flowing through the system, then exiting the system. Volumetric airflow, commonly known as “CFM” or “m3/h”) is important because this is what feeds the airflow. The more air in, the more air out, and in ventilation, you want to maximize the “air out” part! When we test for fan effectiveness, measuring the velocity of air exiting a system is something we always do, because, in the simplest terms, that’s the “work” being done. Airflow into the system is also important much of the time in that the higher the volume, the more clean, cool air is introduced into the structure.

Positive pressure ventilation tries to maximize the airflow discussed above while driving up pressure inside the structure. When a pressure differential is present, there will always be air movement flowing from high pressure to low pressure until the pressure in the structure equals the external atmospheric pressure. Higher pressure inherently results in increased airflow as it naturally tries to equalize itself. When looking at pressurizing the structure, good entrance and exit points must be selected. Things such as the size of openings, external wind speed and direction, and pressure loss points (structural leakage) are examples of things to take into consideration with respect to the capabilities of your fan.

Now let’s a look at why size matters when it comes to performance, and what that means to you. We’ll try our best not to beat around the bush here, because when it comes to high performance, size matters!

Size vs. Performance

The ultimate size matters debate… performance. Go big or go home!
This couldn’t be more correct when it comes to fan performance. The bigger the stream, the greater the flow.

A larger fan blade produces a larger jet stream. A larger Jetstream creates higher entrainment, and higher entrainment equals higher pressure in the structure. Increased pressure equals increased airflow velocity at the exit point, so you’re ventilating more quickly
.
A firefighter’s job is hazardous, there is no need to saddle them with an underperforming tool. It is not uncommon for a firefighter to risk their life while in the line of duty. After doing the math, it turns out that the less time these brave men and women have to spend at the call, the better. Seconds matter and things happen quickly in the fire industry.

Underperformance can allow things to slip away and get out of control. Having tools that not only get the job done but provide the control to get the job done quickly and effectively lets our first responders get home earlier. Increased performance provides the control necessary to finish the job quickly and effectively, and for this reason, size matters. Exponentially.

BlowHard has raised this bar on performance standards with the new “High Flow Jet” series fans that utilize an expanded Jetstream. Our High Flow Jet technology has increased the area of the Jetstream produced with the same sized blade by nearly 150%, while significantly reducing the footprint of the fan. The result is an ultra-compact fan that significantly reduces truck storage requirements while maximizing portability and increasing performance. High Flow Jet provides superior control, gets the job done in less time, and gets our first responders home more quickly.

To summarize: Use BlowHard fans, Go home early. Size matters, because YOU matter. We believe that high-performance tools will impact the performance of your team.

If It Moves, Move It!

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:36:07 GMT

How small changes In routine can prevent costly repairs

We are all creatures of habit. Many of us don’t like to admit it but it is true. Yes, there are a small number of people that like to jump off of cliffs or hop on an airplane to Tahiti on a whim. I think I am pretty safe though in saying that most people are creatures of habit. We pretty much have the same routine most days. Not to say that your day can’t be action-packed and filled with lots of things to get accomplished. Most of us get up at the same time most days, eat meals at the same time, do things in the same order and go to bed around the same time each night. It’s human nature.

The other thing that I am fairly confident in saying is that most of us take the path of least resistance. I believe that it is human nature to look for the easiest way to do things. Many would call this efficient, which may be true, but in some instances in can be quite detrimental.

Every year our technical services team spends countless days out at many different fire departments performing annual pump tests on fire trucks. These tests are meant to ensure that the truck is performing as it should and particularly the pump is meeting its specifications for moving water. Every year they find the same problems on a fairly regular basis. Things like primers that don’t work, valves that are sticky or stuck, faulty drains, etc. Don’t get me wrong, my team and I are in the business of fixing fire trucks so these types of things put food on our tables and roofs over our heads. However, a few different behaviors on the part of fire departments and firefighters would certainly reduce some of these problems.

As statistics have shown, fire departments are putting out fewer fires than ever before. 96 percent of calls don’t require the pump to be engaged on a fire truck. That means that only 4 out of every 100 calls received requires the pump to be engaged and just because the pump is engaged doesn’t mean that any water flows. In fact, pumps get engaged and water flows more often than not during training.

Let’s kick in those human natures that I spoke about earlier; the fact that we work in routines and the fact that we look for the path of least resistance. When training, what do you think most firefighters do? They connect the hose line to the same discharge on the truck every time or grab the same pre-connected line whether it is a front trash line, crosslay or speedlay every time. The other discharges don’t get used. The discharge that gets used for training every time works great. Even when you have an actual fire most of them are small like car fire or a dumpster on fire. What do we do? Grab the front trash line because it’s handy and the easiest to reload. The other 4 or 5 discharges on the truck start to get sticky and seize up over time. Why? Because they aren’t getting used. Same thing goes with primers on the trucks. In many departments that operate mostly in hydranted areas the primers seize up. Why? Because they don’t get used. Then, when you need to use them they are seized up and won’t function. When these situations occur our team gets a call and repairs are made. Some of those repairs could be avoided though if all of the functions on a truck were used and exercised.

It’s actually pretty simple. When you are training and flowing water use all of the discharges on the truck. Even if you don’t connect a hose line flow some water through the discharges. Connect a line and flow water through each of the intakes. Flow some water through the monitor if the truck is so equipped. It allows each of the valves to be operated and avoid seize ups. This also gets the cap off of the intake or the discharge and makes sure it is freed up and not stuck in place. Guess what else gets used? The drains on each of those lines, when you evacuate the residual water from the line. Again, this use prevents them from seizing up. When you are doing your truck checks or training make sure that you operate that primer as well. Maybe you aren’t trying to draft but that’s OK. Just operate it for a few seconds to get it moving and lubricated.

This same idea goes for everything on the truck. Open and close doors, move seats forward and back, swing-out tool boards, slide-out trays, raise and lower your pole-mounted lights, rotate your swivel dump chute, deploy your mast light, operate your generator, etc. If something is meant to move, move it. If something is starting to get sticky then that is the time to address it, long before it needs to be disassembled, rebuilt or replaced.

The same advice can be taken for the truck itself too. Most fire trucks get driven hard for short periods of time and short distances. They also sit and idle a lot. A good highway run with the truck every once in a while has some great benefits too. It is great to exercise the engine, perform a full regen on the emissions system, and make sure the moving parts are getting used and lubricated.

The old saying goes “use it or lose it”. In the case of your fire apparatus, you might not necessarily lose it but your maintenance costs might run up a bit higher!

Interview With Dion C LeMiux

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:31:18 GMT

Dion C LeMieux is a retired Fire Chief and innovator living in Kentucky, USA. Seeing a need to safely stop the spread of free burning attic fires he invented his AFAST product line.

Below are excerpts from correspondence he and I have had.

“The AFAST Nozzle Group stands for: Attic, Fire, Attack, Suppression, Technology. This name was designed by a dear friend in Michigan. It truly makes sense once the technology is applied to FIRE. The group was born in July of 2012. While watching fire videos on a popular internet show “Stater 911” and seeing the number of roofs that firefighters were burning off and eventually completely losing the home, I decided to come up with a tool that could be used to stop the free burning in those attic spaces and stop the destruction.

When I first had the idea to stop the fires in attics and to start of the design of the AFAST 1 Attic stick, I had to look at the delivery system, piping size, tip size and design, hole size and direction, length to accomplish the task and durability. With all those thoughts came achievement. I needed enough water distributed in an area of approximately 30 by 60 feet and no taller than 10 feet as a starting point.

Now, the standard attach hose is 1¾ in size usually coming from a source of 2 inches or more. That stops at the nozzle or ball valve which is normally 1 3/8 opening. With that I took a 1-inch ID aluminum (6061) and put a 1 ½ base female adapter. This pipe is 5 foot long to accommodate the average height of a firefighter to reach an 8-foot-high ceiling and be able to place the pipe high enough into the attic space to distribute the water. Our goal is to distribute 150 to 200 gallons per minute into that attic space in a manner that will cover the entire area in less than 30 seconds. To do that I had to come up with a tip to place on the 1-inch pipe that would do just that and to make the water droplets large enough to absorb the heat quickly for free burning to stop or be disrupted.

This tip is designed for maximum performance at a tip pressure of 125 to 150 PSI. This pressure gives you the 150 to 200 GPM and gives you a distance of 30 feet in circumference. Now just think for a minute…..you have a fully involved attic space with dark brown smoke coming from the eaves. If you introduce the AFAST 1 into the attic space from a scuddle hole or place the pipe in the middle of a hallway, reach as high as you can, turn the ball valve full on, twist the valve left and right and pivot the pipe left and right, what is happening in that attic space for the next 30 seconds? The dark brown smoke turns white from the outside very quickly. The heat goes from at least 1300 degrees F to 400 within seconds. Pull the pipe out of the hole and it should look black. If you see red, then you must place it in another room and do it again for no more than 30 seconds.

So, the AFAST 1 Attic Stick was manufactured after many hours of research and trial & error with a local fire department. Firefighters around the US have used this tool for many other fire situations other than attic’s and it has worked well every time. To sum this up. The AFAST nozzle system is designed for 1 or 2 firefighter operation with ease and safety. All the pipes have the water curtain design for protection. They are all designed for short duration operation and to stop the FREE Burning in the structure, they are also designed for rapid dismounting from the ball valve if need be. None of the pipes are designed for long duration in a heated atmosphere without water flowing but the brass tip will withstand much pounding without disfiguring the tip. Special note: THESE PIPES ARE NOT PIERCING NOZZLE PIPES. There is no place to pound these pipes.”

Useful links:
Car Fire Attack (interior) using the AFAST-1 nozzle system
AFAST Nozzle
http://a-fast1.com/

Buying Bunker Gear (Part 1)

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 15:27:51 GMT

A Guide to Smart Bunker Gear Purchases

As the former Canadian Regional Sales Manager for a major bunker gear manufacturer, I have too often seen FDs make the same purchasing mistakes over and over again. Here, I would like to discuss a few of these errors and help you buy the gear you need and save money.

KNOW YOURSELF! Take a long, hard and honest look at the nature of the calls you run. How many structure fires do you have in a year? What are those fires like – industrial, residential? What is your REALISTIC response time to be on scene? What is your default fireground strategy?
If you run few structure fires, arrive on the scene 10 mins or more after the alarm is received with poor manpower and tend to adopt a defensive strategy, then your bunker gear needs are different than someone arriving sooner and adopting an offensive strategy.
Management vs Members. Many FDs will strike a committee to conduct research and receive presentations or wear trials. While it is a GREAT idea to consult and involve the membership in the decision-making process, PLEASE try and get on the same page of thought with each other. Far too often, these relationships are acrimonious and the process becomes a battle of wills and egos with the Bunker Gear Rep in the middle, trying to appease everyone. This decision is about protecting the membership at a budgetary responsible dollar value. PLEASE put personal relationships aside to get this right.
Don’t get TOO caught up in the numbers game. THL (Total Heat Loss) and TPP (Thermal Protective Performance) are measurements of how well a fabric combination (outer shell/moisture barrier/thermal liner) breaths and protects against heat. While these values are valid concerns for the wearer, the numbers themselves are subjective as there is always some “acceptable” variance from lot to lot in the fabrics. In turn, the companies (fabric manufacturers, fiber manufacturers, bunker gear manufacturers etc) submitting the fabric combination swatches for certification, will many times multi-submit from different lots of fabric to obtain the best certified TPP and THL values to suit their marketing desire. So what you get, might not be the same values as certified.
Also, after the initial wash of the garment, the fabric fibers will permanently expand. This will reduce the THL (breathability) and increase the TPP (heat protection) anyway. So again, please use the published numbers as a guideline only!
Lastly, for this installment, ask to see the numbers! There have been many innovations over the last 8 years in particulate blocking and the processing of body heat and perspiration vapour to help reduce heat stress. BUT, are these innovations lab tested? Is there data to back up the claims? Or, are they just logical, anecdotal conclusions to the innovation supplied?

Bunker Gear is a vital piece of kit for the firefighter’s protection. It may not be as exciting a tool as say auto-ex tools, but it is MORE vital to the wearer’s protection. PLEASE give this decision the time and effort needed to buy correctly.