Thermal imaging camera used to find source of Devine fire

Around 2:38pm July 9th, the Devine Fire Department was toned out for a Structure Fire with people inside off Mc Annelly Street.
“We were at the scene of a single vehicle rollover on SH173 N at San Francisco Creek, when the call for the structure fire came in. So crews adjusted to make location,” said Fire Chief Mike Walker. “Thanks to Devine PD for their quick actions of shutting off the breaker to the home before we got there, which helped stop the source of the fire. We used the Thermal Imaging Camera to locate any hot spots. The electrical fire was in the attic, so there was very little smoke in the main part of the house.”
Chief Walker explained a little about how this high-tech equipment works.
“The TIC (Thermal Imaging Camera) has a little 2×2 screen and as you point it, you can see what looks kind of like an old black and white film. It has a red laser light where you point it, and it works off heat. Whatever is hotter will show up whiter, and it also gives you a thermal temperature reading. So if you walk in a room that is 70 degrees and point it at a chair where somebody was just sitting, you’ll know it because it will be a little warmer and show up as white. When you have an electrical fire it’s really nice to have this equipment because we can point it at the walls to see if it’s getting hotter, rather than just having to tear the walls out sometimes. You can see the hot wires in the walls.”
“The TIC is handy in so many situations,” Chief Walker said. “You can use it in a completely dark room. It’s a set of eyes in the dark, and accurate up to about 30 feet. It can also be used to find a person in a burning home, because you know that a person is close to 100 degrees…..We were able to get a grant for a new upgraded Thermal Imaging Camera in 2018, and we are grateful to have it, because not all departments can afford this kind of equipment.”