Amsterdam Fire Department acquires much needed device

Gordon Meredith (right) presents a thermal imaging camera to
Amsterdam Fire Chief Garry Perrymann

Very often a fire department is called on a report of a sounding smoke detector, or a 'hot smell', but there is no visible smoke or flame.

Before thermal imaging cameras, crews would often touch walls with bare hands to find the source of heat- and in some cases, would need to break through sheetrock to investigate further.

But thanks to this modern technology, firefighters can now simply 'scan' walls, attics and crawlspaces with a thermal imaging camera to quickly and safely find the source of the heat. Another huge advantage of the device is to locate victims trapped within a structure as well.

Recently, Amsterdam Fire Chief Garry Perrymann was presented a new thermal camera by the founder of Operation Thermal Reunion (http://otreunion.org), Gordon Meredith. Perrymann says the addition of the camera is a huge asset that will certainly help the department be more efficient in serving the community.

As an added note, the Amsterdam fire department has made some big strides in improving not only their equipment, but the facility as well. The fire station, located on Main street is undergoing a major renovation that includes four new garage doors and a training/meeting room addition. Bates County Live will be providing a full story on the upgrades when work in completed.