Lets get this party started! Post something here so we know you're alive!

[Arctickat]

Had an instance like that a few weeks ago. Guy rolled his car and wandered off in a daze. When his head stopped ringing he called 911 but was lost in the wilderness. Searchers went out to look but he was finally found by an unmanned aerial surveillance platform with FLIR.

[paramedicmike]

... found by an unmanned aerial surveillance platform with FLIR.

What's the NSA doing in Canada?

[Arctickat]

We have our own version called the RCMP.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2013/05/09/sk-rcmp-drone-infrared-night-rescue-130509.html

[paramedicmike]

That's crazy.

I'm torn between being fascinated that it seemed to work so well and terrified because it seemed to work so well.

[island emt]

We use the fire dept thermal imaging camera's to look around a crash site like this.

We have found folks hiding several times by following their heat signature through the trees.

Mike you are well informed to be scared about how well these drones work. . We have the Maine Wardens service aircraft at our disposal when we get missing boater calls on the ocean. They can cover a lot of ocean in a short time with TI available ,and spot folks marooned or in a kayak , a lot easier than we can search using the mark 1 eyeball and binoculars.

[Chief1C]

I can't sleep.

Speaking of TIC's. Great way to catch a drunk driver at an accident... "I was the passenger, the driver ran off...." Look at the engine, look at the seats. Soon enough prior that the engine is warm, the driver seat is warm...and the passenger seat is cold. Huh. What a co-inky-dink.

[Richard B the EMT]

I've attempted using an FDNY thermal imaging device to look for a lost swimmer in the ocean at midnight. No sighting. NYPD Aviation flew over the area using the FLIR, also without a sighting.
Never found out if it was a false alarm, or just bad information (swimmer came ashore and went home, without the friends seeing him). My lieutenant put us back available status after a half hour.

On a different story, a SPAM I just got, supposedly from the FBI, indicated it was an FBI Alart . You best believe I did NOT try the link.

[Arctickat]

I've got FLIR mounted on my vehicles, but they don't fly too good.

[paramedicmike]

We used NVGs when I was still flying. It's amazing to see all the things you wouldn't otherwise see because it was dark.

Birds, for example. Why are there so many damn birds out in the middle of the night? And why do they all want to fly into the windscreen of the aircraft?

[Happiness]

Sometimes your the bug, Sometimes your the windshield = Sometimes your the bird, Sometimes your the windscreen

Wish I had flying stories ( I hate flying). All I have is two heli rides. One for the daughter of a man who drowned at one of the fishing lodges. We brought her back to be checked at the hospital. She held my hand all the way, at the end she said thank-you, but I was the thankful one who had someone holding my hand all the way home I guess sometimes the roles can be reversed in some cases.

But then, I did get the medevac lear jet to an ambulance meeting. Long story short, my piss pot plane to the mainland cancelled do to weather, medevac jet comes to get patient, patient to heavy to go on jet, jet is going to where I needed to be and waalaa I made it to the meeting, the others had envy in their eyes:) I will admit the lear jet is the way to fly.