Fire Department Equipment Purchased with Donations
Big Bear Fire Department recently took delivery of three new gas monitors and six new thermal imaging cameras. This much-needed equipment was made possible in part from community donations. Fire Chief Jeff Willis stated, “these acquisitions will be a big help to our firefighters and saving lives in the Big Bear Valley.”
Chief Willis accepted a $1,000 check presented to the Department from Linda Davies at the October 1, 2019, Big Bear Fire Authority Board meeting. At the January 15, 2020, Big Bear Elks Lodge Annual Firefighters’ Appreciation Dinner the Department was presented with a check for $500 from the Big Bear Elks Lodge and a private donation of $1,000 from Chuck and Vicki Lehtonen. A donation of $100 from Clay Skoug added to the available funds to purchase much needed equipment.
The new gas monitors will replace the Department’s aging gas monitors that are becoming unserviceable and costly to repair. The gas monitors are used by firefighters to monitor lethal gases that may be present during a house fire, a confined space rescue, or even a malfunctioning wall heater. Lethal gases like hydrogen sulfide or carbon monoxide along with inadequate oxygen levels are monitored by firefighters to ensure a safe working environment. The three new monitors will be placed on currently staffed fire engines.
The new thermal imaging cameras (TIC) will be placed on each first-out unit, and ambulances, and carried on the on-duty Captain’s self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). These versatile cameras convert infrared radiation into a visible light providing many advantages including allowing firefighters to quickly find where the fire is during a structure fire, or see the heat signature of visually obscured victims to expedite fire knock-down and victim rescue. Until recently, these were prohibitively expensive. In the late 1990’s a single bulky TIC cost an average of $16,000. Thermal imagers have become much less expensive and much smaller, now about the size of an average smart phone.
For additional information please contact the Big Bear Fire Department at www.bigbearfire.org or (909) 866-7566.