CPF

CPF-Backed Measure Would Fund Purchase of Thermal Imagers

 

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D - Hayward)

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D - Hayward) has introduced CPF-sponsored legislation to assist fire agencies in obtaining needed thermal imaging equipment. AB 1753 seeks to help implement a program that was approved in 2001 with the passage of AB 70 (Wright - Chapter No. 837, Statutes of 2001), but never put in to practice due to a lack of funding.

Thermal imagers play a vital role in situations of rescue and are extremely valuable because they can be used by firefighters to peer through dense smoky rooms and find victims, can sense heat on the other side of a wall, denoting possible fire danger, and can also "see" into crevices of fallen structures. The bottom line is thermal imagers help save lives. Their value was recognized by the Legislature and Governor in 2001, when AB 70 was signed in to law.

As introduced, AB 1753 would appropriate $2.2 million from the state’s Antiterrorism Fund, which generates revenues through the purchase of specialized license plates, for the purchase of thermal imaging equipment for local fire protection agencies.

 AB 1753 was approved 12 to 0 by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee and has been held on the Assembly Appropriation Committee's Suspense File. AB 1753 has been held.