Helmet Camera's

Anyone using helmet cameras on a regular basis?

What brand and what sort of incidents?

Was checking out The Fire Helmet Camera at http://firevideo.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPa...

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on July 17, 2008 at 9:01am

I have the fire cam. Used to have it mounted on my helmet. Shot a few videos with it. Daytime, the quality is ok. At night or in low light conditions, it gets pretty poor. The videos can make some people sick to their stomach because of the constant movement while working. Also, mine has a pretty sensitive microphone. You really need to let people know you're using it, so they watch what they say. I took it off. At least I noticed they have changed the helmet mount. The one I had with mine was a piece of junk. I ended up making my own.

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on July 17, 2008 at 5:22pm

Thanks Oldman.

What was the primary use for it? Was just something to try or was it used for critiques and debriefs, etc?

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Permalink Reply by Rockland USA on July 17, 2008 at 8:02pm

I've had the helmet cam for over a year now. We have had great success in using the videos for critiques as well as a 'first person' view for training purposes. I know of about 10 others in our department that have them as well. One item to note, depending on your department's rules regarding the modification or damage to helmets, you may want to use a rubber strap around the base of the helmet to secure the camera. The metal clamp that comes with the camera has screws that will go through a leather helmet - some safety officers are very much against this. Just something to be aware of. I've used the camera for both fire and US&R purposes and it has served me well. If you look around on eBay and wholesalers, you can actually find the camera at a discount - it's the same identical camera just not sold as a firecam.

If you want to check the web the camera to look for is called: OREGON SCIENTIFIC ATC-2000 ACTION VIDEO CAMERA It's the same as the firecam.

I think you will be pleased with it.

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on July 17, 2008 at 8:53pm

Thanks Rockland- great response, and appreciate the added detail.

How do they handle the heat?

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on July 17, 2008 at 8:59pm

Here it is strapped to a small rocket- it still worked even after crash landing!!!

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on July 17, 2008 at 9:08pm

You're right about ebay- found them way cheaper!!! Somes as low as $103.00 plus postage

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Permalink Reply by Rockland USA on July 17, 2008 at 9:30pm

For heat they seem to do pretty well. I've only sustained minor damage to mine and it still works. However, I removed it before going into the flashover simulator at the Washington, D.C. fire academy - it's a lock that it would have been cooked! I've seen photos of the cams in Boston and FDNY on some pretty darkened helmets and they claim they still work.

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Permalink Reply by FETC on July 18, 2008 at 4:17pm

I personally do not have one, others on my group do. My chief is currently thinking about banning them through a department policy, as he does not want to see the department (on video) showing up on the internet, (whether good or bad) We are not allowed to even speak to the media never mind release video. One thing he is concerned with is taping/airing someone without their consent. (recent swift water rescue) Also if you miss something on a search, and the survivors find or see a video from the fire, whats the liability?

I see the benefits for obtaining video for training, I was just wondering if any other Chief's have concerns?

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on July 18, 2008 at 4:42pm

There's some good issues you've raised FETC. YouTube and this site is full of what-not-to-do videos.

From a training perspective, I see huge potential for critiqueing and also to give other members an OIC perspective of a scene and all that's happening.

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on July 18, 2008 at 6:16pm

I got it to use in training and for post incident critiques. I actually like the camera. It handles the heat and water well. It can be a little difficult to turn on or off with a gloved hand. Other than the mount that came with mine (junk), it's actually not a bad unit for the price. I may eventually try different uses for it not only on the fire ground, but possibly the do's and don'ts when driving, or other skills training.

As we have seen here, there are a lot of questionable things our brothers and sisters have been caught on video doing. Therefore, any videos I have are secured on my laptop, and the memory card is erased after downloading. That way unless my oldtimers kicks in, they won't make it to the internet.