Infrared Scanner Pinpoints Concealed Smoldering Fire
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When a family noticed a faint smell of burning wood in their three-story house on Long Island, N. Y., they called the Halesite Volunteer Fire Department.
First Assistant Chief Walter Sammis and Steve Hartman, the department electrician, found nothing after checking the basement, where the odor was strongest, and they told the family they would check again that evening.
In discussing the situation back at the Halesite Firehouse, Sammis learned that the nearby Huntington Manor Volunteer Fire Department owned a portable heat scanner that might be helpful. He obtained the device from Captain Joseph Lynch of Huntington Manor and the two went to the house.
Moving the scanner along electrical cable on the ceiling of a basement room, they noticed that the device indicated a high temperature in a small area. The cable was not hot to the touch, but the ceiling above it was.
Sammis called for a company to respond and when fire fighters opened the ceiling, sparks fell from two charred beams. The electrical circuit was shut off and a portable extinguisher was used to extinguish the smoldering fire.
“We found that water had been leaking into this section above the ceiling for some time,” Sammis explained. “The BX electrical cable had rusted and its insulation had worn off. Heavy rain earlier in the day had run through the walls, causing the wire to short circuit and touch off the smoldering fire.”
When passed over a suspicious area, the hand-held scanner, manufactured by 3M Company, indicates differences in temperatures. A high temperature activates a red light on the pistol-like device, whereas a green light signals a cooler area. The 10-ounce unit operates on infrared radiation detection.
Two days after the smoldering fire incident, the Halesite Board of Fire Commissioners voted to buy a 3M heat scanner.
