$19K grant helps Mich. FD improve searches with thermal imagers

A Firehouse Subs grant helped Pittsfield Township firefighters replace one old camera and place new ones on every truck in the fleet

February 11, 2025 08:42 AM

By Jordyn Pair
mlive.com

PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A Washtenaw County fire department will be able to find people inside burning buildings quicker thanks to a grant from Firehouse Subs.

The Pittsfield Township Fire Department purchased four thermal imaging cameras using a roughly $20,000 grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, according to a release from the department.

The cameras use infrared radiation to detect heat sources in a smoke-filled room, making it easier to find a person or the heart of a fire, said Michael Chevrette, assistant fire chief.

“If you didn’t have the cameras, you would rely on your senses – touch, feel, hearing, things of that sort – to try to find either the fire or the victim,” Chevrette said. “This just allows us to do the job a lot faster.”

The handheld cameras, sold by Teledyne FLIR, show the heat differences between structures, fire and people, making it easier to navigate in low-visibility situations. The cameras retail for roughly $6,500, according to the company’s website. The grant only covers the purchase of the camera, although already-trained Pittsfield Township personnel have assembled a presentation for other firefighters, Chevrette said.

The grant allowed the department to replace one older camera model and add cameras to trucks without them, Chevrette said. All trucks in the fleet now have a thermal imaging camera.

This is the first grant the department has received from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, a nonprofit started by sandwich shop Firehouse Subs. The restaurant opened an Ann Arbor location in 2022.

The grant awarded to the Pittsfield Township department was one of 123 grants recently awarded by the foundation, according to the department.

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