A set of five MSA Connected Firefighter Platform devices at the City of Norwich Fire Department, where firefighters have been testing out the equipment and its many benefits. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — The Norwich Fire Department (NFD) has been exploring a new game-changing equipment that would benefit firefighters, EMS, and the communities they serve.

Made by firefighter safety equipment manufacturer MSA, the Connected Firefighter Platform features handheld thermal imaging cameras that can show temperature variations in a space, highlight doorways and windows, show airpack levels, allow firefighters to alert others if they are in trouble, and assist other firefighters in locating them.

The thermal imaging cameras, or TICs, would be attached to heavy-duty extendable lanyards that could be clipped on to firefighters' turnout gear, making them easy to access as well.

"They could see a person, they could see a fire. You can actually see the windows that could be potential escape routes or something, if something bad happened," said NFD Chief Jan Papelino. "It pairs with our airpacks, so a firefighter can look right on the screen and see how much air is in his airpack. He doesn't have to try to fumble and get his regulator up so he can see it. It’s just a really nice system."

"Probably one of the biggest benefits to this system is the connected firefighter platform, where if one firefighter gets in trouble they can alert the other ones, and it’ll tell them right on the screen who’s in trouble," he added.

Firefighters who end up pinned, stuck, or otherwise in need of help simply press a button on the TIC for two seconds, which activates a high-pitched alarm from their device, and also alerts every other device that they need help.

"Let’s say a firefighter is in another room, and a ceiling collapses on him and he’s pinned. If he activates his alarm, everybody that’s on that fire scene that’s holding one of those, it comes right up on the screen," Papelino explained. "You can put their name on there, or you can put the riding position that they’re in on the truck, and everybody is going to know that there’s a firefighter down."

The TICs also include a locating sensor with three rings indicating when the downed firefighter is within 30 feet, 30 to 60 feet, and 60 to 90 feet. They also provide a percentage to show how close they are to the firefighter who called for help, with an increasing percentage indicating they are moving closer.

Papelino said being inside a burning building is quite different than it's portrayed on TV and in movies — in reality, it can be extremely hard to see or distinguish things like people and doorways amid the smoke.

The TICs would be a game changer for department firefighters as it highlights doorways and windows on the brightly-lit screen, which Papelino said could end up being potential escape routes for firefighters and individuals being rescued from burning structures.

"Being in a real fire is nothing like on Chicago Fire or any of those. You’re lucky if you can see your hand in front of your face," said Papelino. “[With the device] You can see obstacles and you can see doorways and, like I said, windows. It can help with potential escape routes. Just a lot of benefits to the program."

He said the TICs are also useful in sweeping a location after a fire has been put out, to check for any still-smoldering areas or hotspots that may lead to a later rekindle. Plus, EMS staff can use the devices at accident scenes to locate individuals who may have been ejected from their vehicle.

"You can try to find victims at night. We’ve used them before at motor vehicle accidents where potentially somebody was ejected and we may be looking in a field for somebody that either got ejected out of the vehicle or got up and walked and fell, just couldn't go any further. I mean, there’s a lot of uses for thermal imaging," said Papelino.

NFD career firefighters and volunteers have been testing out the equipment at the station for the last few weeks, and Papelino said they all enjoy the platform and are eager to use them on calls.

Papelino gave a presentation at the April 4 joint committee meeting detailing the many benefits of purchasing the TICs. Now is a good time to buy, he said, as MSA is running a sale pricing TICs at $2,500 a piece, plus a buy three get one free special.

In total, he requested council approval to order eight TICs, eight lanyards, and one multi-bay charger for a total of $16,171.

"I think that these are very valuable," said Alderman Robert Jeffrey. "I think that these make a ton of sense, from primarily an employee safety standpoint. I don’t want to see somebody go up in a fire that’s trying to put it out, if we don’t spend $16,000. To me it makes sense."

"It’s one of those things where, if you know that this exists and it’s within our reach of getting it financially, you’d be kicking yourself if you didn’t do it and something happened," added Alderwoman Nancy Allaire.

"[It's] probably one of the biggest things since I’ve been in the fire service. For the 47 years I’ve been in it, the thermal imaging camera was one of the biggest things that I can think of that came out during that time frame," said Papelino. "This is right there with it, because it’s not just a thermal imaging, but it’s also a locator for somebody that's got one of those that’s in trouble. I mean, it’s got some really neat features that nobody else has in the industry."

The City of Norwich Common Council will vote on whether or not to purchase the equipment at the Tuesday, April 18 common council meeting.