Taipei City Fire Department

With the advancement of technology, infrared thermography now plays an important role in imaging science. Able to work without the limitation of lights, smokes and certain obstacles, the technique has been used in different fields including military, environmental monitoring, urban development, and search and rescue. In light of the tragic loss of 6 fire fighters in the Hsinwu bowling club fire in Taoyuan city, the Taipei City Fire Department (TFD) has allotted infrared thermal imagers to all 41 fire stations in Taipei City to insure safety of fire fighters during missions. The arrangement is done with the great support of the National Fire Agency, the Taipei City Government, and the Taipei City Council.
Building structure has been diversified in recent years (high buildings, underground structures, shopping malls, department stores, union stations, T-grid buildings…etc.), which makes firefighting more difficult and dangerous. Infrared thermal imagers provide visual picture of a large area, and are able to identify objects by detecting the variation in temperature, which offer great help in saving lives and properties since the visibility at the fire scene is affected by blackout and heavy smoke. However, it takes professional knowledge and training to use the device properly; hence, TFD invited Mr. Bob Knabbe, current technical instructor of the New York City Fire Department who have instructed internationally for the world-famous thermography training institution SAFE-IR, to the TFD training center in Neihu on Nov.20, 2015, to provide well-rounded training.
The experienced and well-qualified instructor helped our fire fighters to become proficient in using the device. We believe that after the training our fire fighter’s will make good use of these thermal imagers and greatly improve their safety and rescue efficiency.