Will be used for new air packs, thermal cameras

The Rome Volunteer Fire Department has received a federal grant and are using it the money for new air packs.

The $135,048 grant came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency for equipment upgrades.

George Barnett, the Rome VFD chief, said they are going to purchase 22 new air packs, called SBA units, with two bottles. And some of them will come equipped with thermal imaging cameras.

“We currently have 22 units that are 12 years old,” he said, adding the air bottles have about a 15-year life span. He said the National Fire Protection Association sets the standards for air packs and the new units will meet the latest standards. “Technology changes quite frequently, so this will give us new, updated equipment.”

Barnett said five of the packs would have thermal imagining cameras on the harness.

“We have two thermal imaging cameras now, one is 15 years old and the other is probably 20. And they are both hand held,” he said. “The new ones are about the size of a cell phone and attach to the harness so our interior guys can use them and be relatively hands free.”

The department uses the thermal imaging devices to locate the source of the fire and to find people in low-visibility, smoky conditions.

“It speeds up the process of finding the seed of the fire, which means we can extinguish it quicker,” Barnett said. “You don’t want to go into someone’s house and just start spraying water. That does more destruction than the fire itself.”

He described walking into a smoky house as being in a dark cave where you can’t see your hand in front of your face.

“And if there is someone trapped in the house, with thermal imaging you can see a body laying on the floor,” he continued. “Thermal imaging is a very vital life-saving tool for us.

He said the technology of the thermal cameras has improved to the point where it can tell the temperature which is important since it can help firefighters figure out if there is a chance of back draft, flashover and if they need to ventilate.

Barnett said the packs are being purchased from the MSA company and he will sit down next week to meet with the supplier and setting up specifications.

“I suspect it will be July or August before we get the units in,” he said. “But sometimes they surprise us and get them in a lot sooner. They’ll be busy because a lot of fire departments will be buying equipment with the Assistance to Firefighters Grants coming out. It’s nationwide.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio,  announced the grant last week.

“Ohio firefighters and first responders work every day to protect our families,” Brown said. “We must support our first-responder organizations so that communities like Rome Township have the resources to shield families and homes from fire hazards.”