New firefighting technology.

[Mash]

So, my local fire department, Seattle Fire Department, recently announced that they would be using a new technology in their fire-fighting techniques; thermal imaging.

Now, I'm no expert on how thermal imaging works, but I was under the impression that it compared the temperatures of certain objects, making warm-blooded creatures stand out against the colder environment. So then...what happens when the surrounding environment is hotter than the average human? The kind of environment that can be found inside a burning building.

I understand the intention. Burning buildings are typically very smokey, so visibility is very low. Thermal imaging is very effective in that regard. I still don't see how the surrounding flames, and the scorching hot walls, floor and ceiling will have no effect on the images of the thermal camera.

Unless we've managed to somehow make a thermal camera that distinguishes human body-heat and heat produced in a fire.

Of course, there is the possibility that since the human would probably be colder than the surrounding objects...that maybe they would show up on the camera as colder?
Again, I'm no expert. If I'm wrong in how thermal imaging works, by all means correct me.

However, I wouldn't put it past the State of Washington to waste thousands of dollars on something like this.

 

[Violetta]

Your confusing the functioning of thermal imaging with a single application of the technique. In point of fact, we use thermal imaging to tell which parts of the sun are different temperatures, and it's slightly hotter than a burning building from what I hear.

Indeed, the human body will likely appear as colder than the fire and hot air around it, thus making it easy to find in a blaze, but I can also imagine thermal imaging being useful in the firefighting itself, allowing firemen to locate the source of a fire and concentrate their efforts there. It could even be used to spot places in danger of igniting and spreading a blaze, allowing them to better contain the fire once they're on the scene.

 

[PurpleStyle]

According to a 9/11 factsheet, normal building fires generate heat up to 2,000 °F. Surface temperature of the sun is 9,941 °F. Not mentioning the chromosphere, which is 53,540.33 °F.