Thermal imaging cameras for district fire investigation teams

Thermal imaging camera being used at Fire Investigation Training Facility

 

The Fire Investigation Section has been successful in obtaining a Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP) 2025-26 grant as part of the statewide initiative to purchase 3M Scott V320 thermal imaging cameras for district fire investigation teams.

 

The VESEP application was submitted to provide thermal imaging cameras to fire Investigators to improve their safety while undertaking scene examinations of structural, non-structure, vehicle and marine craft fires, especially where lithium-ion batteries have been involved in the ignition or have been affected by fire, with the potential for these devices to go into secondary ignition and thermal runaway.

In a bushfire scene examination context, the thermal imaging cameras can assist with the investigation to establish or exclude the possibility of heat sources remaining within the environment that led to the ignition of the fire. Examples include, but not limited to, lightning strikes to trees which have smouldered for some days, spontaneous combustion of haystacks or hay bales, and re-ignition of a previous burn-off left unattended or buried underground days or weeks before the fire was reported.

The provision of thermal imaging cameras for the Fire Investigation Program will:

• assist fire investigators to safely undertake scene examinations where lithium-ion batteries have been involved in the ignition of the fire or affected by fire, and detect if the batteries are proceeding into secondary ignition, thermal runaway and explosion.
• enable fire investigators to identify 'hot spots' within the structure or vegetation environments, allowing for prompt extinguishment and prevent the potential for re-ignition of fires and the additional response from CFA brigades.
• give fire investigators direct access to this equipment, preventing the unnecessary response of the nearest fire brigade that has a thermal imaging camera to transport the equipment to the fire scene and then be committed at the scene potentially for several hours whie the investigation is being undertaken.

The funding will deliver two thermal imaging cameras for each CFA districts, which will be used by fire investigators as part of the fire investigation kits.    

In addition, thermal imaging cameras have been obtained that will be used during the delivery of the practical components of the Structural & Vehicle Fire Investigation and Bushfire Investigation training courses to study fire development, fire behaviour, fire dynamics, and scene examination principles.

 

Submitted by	Nicole Harvey