Westbury firm Morgan Wilshire Securities recently donated a $20,000 thermo-imaging camera to the Westbury Fire Department. Individual members of the firm made out-of-pocket contributions to total half the cost of the camera, with the firm donating the other half.

"Because of its high cost, this type of technology is not often available to the people who risk their lives every day," said firm President Mike Finnan, "but we think it should be."

Westbury Fire Department officials gave a brief demonstration at the Morgan Wilshire Securities building on Old Country Rd. Nov 8. Using a prototype of the camera they had ordered, they explained how it operated and its many uses. "Thermo-imaging cameras detect light changes in heat and project the image," said Chief Larry Tamney. "This enables firefighters to locate not only the source of fires, but the victims as well.

"Imagine this room was filled with smoke," Tamney instructed the assemblage of approximately 45 brokers. "Now imagine that one of your friends is lost in here. Normally it would take us half an hour to an hour to search the room for the victim. With this camera, we can very quickly scan the room, locate an image of the body, and detect its whereabouts."

Additionally, the camera can alert firefighters to the source of a fire. If there is a fire behind a wall, because of the differential in heat, the wall will appear white in images projected by the camera.

Tamney also explained the camera's usefulness when patrolling dimly lit roadways. In situations where there is an automobile accident and the victim is thrown from the car, the camera can help firefighters locate the victim by detecting light changes in body heat. "It's a pretty amazing piece of equipment," Tamney said. "It cuts down on manpower and time. It adds to our safety as firefighters, and to the victim's safety, as well."

Said Finnan, "The entire firm chose to do this because we thought it was needed." He added that the firm does something of this nature every year. "We want people to know that good actually gets done in the community, and perhaps to motivate other businesses to do this sort of thing themselves."

"It was a very generous donation on behalf of Morgan Wilshire," Tamney said. "They deserve a lot of credit."