Mike Gurr from Pompano Beach (FL) sent in these pictures that were passed on from the off-going crew. The photos were taken by M. Callahan on a typical power line down call. On arrival, the crew encountered a downed power line onto a chain link fence. The crew decided to use the TIC to determine what was going on with the fence. as you can see from below, the fence was approximately 300 degrees, and clearly shows up on the TIC. Even more interesting, the power line was actually found to be touching the fence approximately 200 yards away from where the picture was taken.
The TIC can be used in much more than fire situations, and power line down calls are no exception. These situations can prove to be an excellent training opportunity for everyone on the crew. The interesting thing about this particular training opportunity is that an actual heat source is present.
Many times, firehouse TIC training does not involve any heat sources and simply involves finding another member in a darkened room. This is in fact training, but it may be teaching the TIC operator bad habits. In the darkened firehouse room (without fireground heat sources) the person shows up as the heat signature in the room, exactly the opposite of what it would appear in real fireground situations.
Everyone who has ever trained with a TIC should already know that, but unfortunately, that sometimes isn’t passed n during training.
TIC’s are an amazing tool, but its important to remember, just that… It is only a tool.
It takes a skilled operator to use it effectively, and like most other tools, can actually be dangerous in the hands of an untrained operator. It is absolutely essential that we all know how to use a TIC, but it is even more essential that we never totally rely on a TIC.
