Steve Bloom/The Olympian
Bill Bruder (right) and Shelton firefighter Darrell Roberts discuss past fire calls in which thermal imaging cameras would have been helpful in surveying the incident scenes. The cameras would also increase firefighter safety. Bruder is spearheading a campaign to purchase three units for use by Mason County fire stations.

Mason County fights fire with fund-raiser

Contributors help bring thermal imaging cameras to county's fire departments

DUGGAN KINNE FOR THE OLYMPIAN

MASON COUNTY -- When Bill Bruder began trying to raise money a year ago to buy a thermal imaging camera for Mason County's fire departments, some were skeptical.

"When Bill originally proposed the idea to the Mason County Fire Chiefs Association, I thought it was a little ambitious, but I've certainly learned to encourage anyone who volunteers to do good," Shelton Fire Chief Jim Ghiglione said. "He's been tireless in his efforts and won't take no for an answer."

Now $23,000, donated by 45 individuals and businesses who ultimately said yes to Bruder, sits in an account maintained by the association to purchase the camera. Several small grants written by the Shelton Fire Department's Michelle Jennings also added to the account's total.

"I don't fail at what I go after," Bruder said. "I'm just a member of the public -- not a firefighter -- who has come to believe that these cameras will allow our county's fire departments to become much more effective and save lives."

Bruder estimates he has spent 400 to 500 hours on this project, talking to hundreds of businesses and organizations, since January 2001.

Thermal imaging cameras are small, lightweight, hand-held devices that allow firefighters to see very small differences in heat through smoke, brush and building walls. The cameras, with a built-in video display, withstand temperatures up to 600 degrees, so firefighters can take them inside burning buildings to quickly locate missing people, as well as the source of the fire.

"The Griffin Fire Department has one, and I looked through it at a tanker truck that had driven in thirty minutes previously and had been parked," Bruder said. "I could see the heat coming off the tires and the engine and the exhaust system."

"We've had ours for about two years, and it's been credited with saving one life already," Griffin Captain Ken Goldsby said. "During a night fire, we used it to discover an unconscious victim in the woods about 100 yards from the burning house. He would have died of hypothermia."

In the past year, the cost of the cameras has come down substantially, and now Bruder and the association hope to raise $3,000 to $4,000 more to buy not one, but three of the cameras, so they will be readily available throughout the county.

"The fund-raising effort is really starting to snowball now, so we're continuing it until August," Bruder said. "By buying three at once, we'll get a discount over the single unit price."

Several firefighting equipment companies sell the cameras and have demonstrated their capabilities to Mason County fire departments.

"Last summer we had one during a wildland fire practice burn," said Matt Heinrich, a Fire District 6 volunteer. "We took it out at night and could see all sorts of embers and hot spots under logs that weren't visible to the eye."

Fire District 13 volunteer Brandon Searles was at a nighttime auto crash where a camera was available.

"We used it to find a guy who had been ejected from the car and was lying about 20 feet off the road," he said.

"I'm real proud of the array of contributors," Bruder said. "Look at what our community is doing for us."

Duggan Kinne is a correspondent for The Olympian.

To contribute

- For more information, call Mason County Fire Prevention, 360-432-5171.

- Checks can be made payable to Mason County Fire Chiefs Association and mailed to Mason County Life Safety and Fire Prevention Co-op, P.O. Box 1277, Shelton, WA 98584.

For more local news go to the Communities section.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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