TAMPA - Tampa Fire Rescue fought one fire the old-fashioned way Friday and tried out some new gear on another that allowed firefighters to spot smoldering trouble before it turned into a blaze. Fire units responded to a house struck by lightning just before 3 p.m. Friday and found light smoke inside. But they couldn't find a fire at 8317 El Portal Drive.
So the fire captain on scene called in the Aerial One crew.
Less than an hour earlier, Aerial One firefighters had begun training on the department's new $10,000 Argus Digital Infrared camera, paid for by a federal grant for potential first responders to attacks by weapons of mass destruction.
The camera's first assignment: a house with smoke but seemingly no fire.
Firefighters scanned the house's walls for "hot spots." On a wall in the attic, near where electricity comes into the house, the camera's black-and-white screen showed white. Which means hot.
They pulled away part of the wall and found smoldering insulation, which they extinguished, said Captain Bill Wade.
"Because they had the right tool, they stopped the fire before it could cause any significant damage," he said.
Without the camera, Wade said firefighters probably would have had two options: tear the house apart to find the source of the smoke, or leave the scene and tell the homeowners to call if the smoke returned.
The camera helps locate smoldering fires in hidden areas of buildings, but also helps firefighters see through blinding smoke to help locate victims.
No one was injured in Friday's fire, which caused minimal damage.
Records show the house is owned by John and Brenda Williams.
Later Friday, in another part of town, the department responded to another call.
Martha Garris said she was sitting on the porch of one of a couple of houses she owns near 34th and Emma streets, talking on the phone with her brother in New York, when she noticed smoke all around her.
She ran inside to let out her two gold retrievers, Kala and Baby. Then she got out herself as a Friday evening fire heavily damaged the house, at 4502 N 34th Street.
Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Bill Wade said the fire started in a bedroom and did an estimated $40,000 in damage.
Several neighbors watched firefighters extinguish the blaze.
"Smoke was coming from everywhere," said Antonio Mitchell, 13. "You could smell it all around."
