A thermal camera records the different infrared radiations of the body, which vary according to temperature. It reproduces the temperature stored by the body or shows the heat flux of a wall, when there is a source of heat behind it.

We have chosen to work with the e2v company and its Argus4 thermal cameras. LEADER distributes Argus4 equipment in France.


A thermal camera may be used in different situations.

• By firemen:
o when seeking victims in apartment fires, and especially in large volumes like underground car parks, factories, warehouses or in forest fires etc.
o search for fire source: the thermal camera is capable of very quickly detecting a source of heat, or even a smouldering fire
o residual file or heat in an expansion joint following a fire in the cellar of an apartment building;
o hotspot after extinguishing a fire in a chimney or in an attic space,
o electric fire: short circuit or bad contact, resulting in local overheating;
o during freight vehicles or tanker transfers, the level of chemical products in certain tanks can be observed with a thermal camera.
o during action to deal with a traffic accident at night in the country, to detect a body that may have been thrown off the road,
o for rescue under rubble, to locate victims in locations that are only accessible through a small hole,
o for training, the instructor is better able to display and correct the gestures of the trainee during an intervention operation.

• For the armed forces, the police or the customs authorities:
o for night-time operations
o to search for stowaway passengers
o to detect illegal drug cultivation (for instance: cannabis)

• For HRIPs (Household Refuse Incineration Plants):
o detection of the outbreak of fire
o connection of thermal cameras to automatic water monitors

• For navy operations:
o rescue at sea: searching for persons who have fallen overboard