Helmet Cam Shows Sturbridge 4-Alarm Fire Up Close
STURBRIDGE (CBS) -- When Sturbridge Firefighter Brian Towns slides down the pole at the fire station to answer a call these days, he puts on a helmet that looks a little different from the rest.
It's got a small camera on the side wrapped in a protective shell to withstand the heat -- and capture everything from the time he arrives on scene until the last flames are put out.
"The video is real tell-tale," he says. "It sees a lot of details that we might miss."
It was rolling Tuesday when he and his comrades arrived at a rare, four-alarm house fire.
"It gives us that 'first-in' view," says Sturbridge Chief David Zinther, "and you can't put a price on that."
This fire went to four alarms largely because the nearest hydrant was nearly half a mile away -- and a relay of pump trucks had to be set up. In addition, this fire was very likely burning in the basement long before neighbors called it in.
Fortunately, no one was home as flames engulfed the wood frame house on Shepard Road and gutted the place. But three pets perished -- a dog and two cats -- leaving the Payne family badly shaken.
"I just keep thinking about all the memories we've lost," says a somber Michael Payne standing in his driveway. "I don't know what else to say. I just hope my mother will be okay after all of this."
For Sturbridge firefighters, the helmet cam video now becomes a training tool for what went well -- and what didn't. For a department understaffed like so many small towns, this fire response was a pretty good showing.
Thing is, very few Massachusetts fire departments -- big or small -- have even tinkered with the helmet cam option.
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan tells WBZ-TV that the issue is up to each department. His office had no stats on how many might be in use.
"It's new technology and a people here haven't embraced it yet," says Chief Zinther. "I think as time goes on departments will see the value in it. But things change very slowly in the fire service."
Indeed, the Sturbridge experiment comes at a time when the debate over police body cams has taken center stage nationwide.
Tuesday's house fire here was not suspicious -- perhaps electrical. But the helmet camera will still be useful to investigators.
"Actually seeing the volume of fire and where it was in the building," says Firefighter Towns, "helps them determine where the fire started and where they should be looking for a cause."
He actually owns the $200 camera on his helmet and wears it with permission from the Chief -- with the understanding that all video becomes department property.
Watch Helmet Cam Footage From Stubridge Fire Department
MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON
