History of the application of thermovision in the fire protection system in Poland

The paper presents the most important events in the history of the development of the thermovision usage in Fire Services in Poland. The first attempts to use the thermal imaging cameras in fire protection in Poland and in the world have been described. Firefighting and Rescue Units were first equipped with thermal cameras for tactical operations in 1997. In the following years the Fire Service Units were continuously provided with more thermal equipment. Attempts have been made to use infrared pyrometers to detect fires. The paper also presents the current state of thermal imaging cameras equipment in Fire Services and information how the cameras are used. In order to present the usage of cameras in the actions of Fire Services, the statistics on thermal devices contribution in actions in the selected poviat has been drawn up. The data are presented in Table 1 and Table 2. The final conclusions show the directions for development of the thermovision usage in fire protection and rescue actions.