Baker FD: new camera will save lives

The Baker Volunteer Fire Department is conducting fundraisers that will eventually help save lives. The department needs a Thermal Imaging Camera and members are working to make the camera a reality.

“The people of the community have really helped us with yard sales and ticket sales, we are very grateful,” said Lt. Fred Steinmeier.

Steinmeier and other members of the fire department are selling chances to win a $500 cash drawing that will take place Dec. 19, during the department’s annual Christmas party. A $2 donation will get you a ticket or get three tickets for $5 at the Baker Pic-n-Save and other locations until the date of the drawing.

The purchase price for a Thermal Imaging Camera starts at about $7,000 and costs up to $14,000 for high-end models, according to Deputy Chief Dusty Talbert.

“We have submitted several grant requests for help toward purchasing the camera, but have been passed over,” Talbert said. “You’ve got to remember that we’re a rural fire department and don’t want to risk getting our firefighters trapped.”

The camera picks up body heat and firefighters can locate potential victims before entering a burning building. That not only saves firefighters time searching for those trapped in a fire but reduces the firefighters’ risk as well. If no one is inside a burning building, the camera will provide firefighters with that information and head off a potentially dangerous search.

“It’s the greatest thing since the wheel,” joked volunteer firefighter Jason Giles, who pointed out several other advantages to the Thermal Imaging Camera.

The camera can be used to determine the temperature of a fire before entering, will allow firefighters to locate flames and pinpoint hotspots that could later rekindle the fire, according to Giles.

The camera will also aid search and rescuers in locating Alzheimer patients lost in wooded areas.

“Our primary mission is to find people inside the fire and save lives,” said Talbert, whose district covers an area of 90 square miles on the western border of Okaloosa County.

The fire department’s fund raising efforts have yet to reach the halfway mark toward purchasing the least expensive model, according to Steinmeier.

“We have more fund raisers planned in the coming year and appreciate the continued support of the community,” he said.