East Haven Firefighters Use New Thermal Camera To Find Crash Victim

EAST HAVEN, CT —Grant writing is a laborious task, but when it pays off, it can be a lifesaver.

It was just before 3 a.m., New Year's Day when the East Haven Fire Department was dispatched to a vehicle crash on Silver Sands Road. When first responders arrived, they found nobody inside the vehicle, a white pickup that can be seen in firefighter photos, crashed into a leaning utility pole.

East Haven reported that firefighter Chris Hughes deployed one of 16 newly acquired thermal imagers that the department received as part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant and quickly located the victim in the thick pampas grass. Thermal imaging cameras detect a "heat signature" and display the image on an LCD screen.

Hughes, who had recently undergone a training class given by EHFD Battalion Chief Andrew Calhoun on the “alternative uses of thermal imaging” and put his new skill set to use.

In 2022, as reported by Patch, the town announced it received a $136,236 FEMA grant for the East Haven Fire Department to purchase thermal imaging cameras. The federal funding was provided through FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. East Haven's award was the fourth-highest in the state during the 2021 round of grants, officials said then.

East Haven Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli said at the time the 12 state-of-the-art thermal imaging cameras "help firefighters save lives."

With the cameras, firefighters can see through walls to locate hidden fire in walls. And they can be used at night to help find trapped or lost victims by detecting their heat signature, Marcarelli said at the time.

Or, in thick pampas grass in the middle of the night.

On New Year's Day 2024, one of the new cameras was put to very good use.