Photo/Matt Lasley Caneyville Fire and Police Chief Anthony Clark applied for and received a grant to purchase a new thermal imaging camera for the Caneyvill Fire Department.

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The Caneyville Fire Department recently received a $3,200 grant from the Kentucky Fire Commission to purchase a new Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC).

Caneyville Fire and Police Chief Anthony Clark said a TIC allows users to have visibility in a smokey fire environment, which is especially useful when searching for people trapped in such an environment.

“You can see a person’s outline in the smoke,” Clark said. “[The TIC] lets you see heat. It’s also useful at a car wreck where no one is in the car. With the camera, you can see the person’s footprints and determine where he or she may have gone after the wreck.”

Clark said he applied for the grant in December of 2012 because the Department’s current twelve-years-old TIC has become technologically out-of-date.

“The old [TIC] was so big, operating it was all you could do at a time,” Clark said. “The new one will have a retractable strap that will attach to your person and will be small enough that you can still use a hose and use the camera when you need it.”

Clark said the new TIC will also feature a temperature gauge and be better equipped to handle higher temperatures than the old one, as well.

The new TIC, a $4,480 Bullard Eclipse, is currently on order from the Bluegrass Fire Equipment and should arrive within the next week, Clark said.