Sleeping Man Rescued From Burning Laguna Niguel Apartment Fire Thanks To Thermal Imaging Camera
LAGUNA NIGUEL (CBSLA) – Firefighters used a thermal-imaging camera to locate and rescue a man who was sleeping as a fire tore through his Laguna Niguel apartment building early Monday morning.
The fire was reported at a two-story apartment complex at Pearl and Crystal Cay at 2:15 a.m., according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
Video from the scene showed flames and smoke coming from the building as firefighters use a ladder to access the second story.
OCFA reports that crews utilized a new tool, a personal thermal imaging camera, to find and rescue a man who was sleeping in a bedroom of one of the apartments. He was taken to a hospital with unknown injuries.
The fire was determined to have been accidentally caused by improperly disposed "smoking material," OCFA said.
The fire department reported that all its firefighters now have such thermal imaging cameras installed on their turnout coats.
