Title
Resolution Authorizing 2015 Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Thermal Imaging Cameras
Body
Department: Fire
Council District: All
Public Hearing: N/A
Advertising Date/By: N/A
Contact 1 and Phone: Clarence Hunter, Deputy Fire Chief
Contact 2 and Phone: Michael Swails, Division Fire Chief
PURPOSE:
The Greensboro Fire Department (GFD) seeks to apply for federal funding in the amount of $94,484 through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), a FEMA-administered program. The AGF involves a 10% local matching requirement of $9,448, which is included in the $103,932 application total. If the grant is awarded, the funding would be utilized to purchase Thermal imaging cameras for fire apparatus. Thermal imaging cameras are critical search and rescue equipment, and their use results in dramatic increases in civilian rescue, firefighter safety, reducing property damages, and overall fire ground performance.
City Council approval is required for this matching grant.
BACKGROUND:
Typical structure fires result in zero visibility for firefighters due to the trapped dense smoke. Thermal imaging cameras restore sight to firefighters, helping them to maintain orientation within a building, to identify hazards above, below, and around them, to find the source of the fire, and to ultimately locate any endangered or trapped civilians. Rapidly locating the source of the fire, including "hidden" fires, increases firefighter safety and survivability, and reduces property losses by limiting fire growth and associated damage. Additionally, on every working fire that occurs inside a burning structure, Greensboro firefighters operate with a backup team in place, ready in the event that one or more interior firefighters gets into trouble. This backup team is the Rapid Intervention Crew, or "RIC", and firefighter rescue is its sole responsibility. A thermal imaging camera is an essential tool when searching for a missing, trapped, or downed fire...
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