Liberty professor Bev Lowry presented two thermal imaging cameras to the Lynchburg City Council March 28 during the council's meeting.

The cameras were purchased with donations from the "Eyes for Life" campaign started by Lowry to "give firefighters eyes" during fires.

The new cameras will make it easier to locate people in a smoke filled building. The cameras, which are about half the size of a TV screen, have heat sensors that cause humans and animals to appear bright on the screen. They can also help firefighters to find the "hot spot," which is usually the source of the fire.

"I used to think that if my house caught fire I would have time to collect my photos, because they are very precious to me and are irreplaceable," Lowry, a mother of three and grandmother of five, said. "After a lot of research and contact with fire experts, I have learned that there is no time for that."

She called the fire department last January to work with its members on the project. Her goal is to see that each of Lynchburg's eight fire stations have a thermal imaging camera.

So far she has been able to present the department with two cameras, one of which was purchased by the City of Lynchburg. Each camera costs about $16,000.

Lowry's research makes her even more certain that the cameras could provided a better chance for the firefighters to locate people who have been disoriented by smoke.

"Smoke has fumes that if inhaled, tend to disorient people. Their only hope is for the fire fighters to find them before it's too late and it's faster if they can see," Lowry said.

Lowry's efforts have involved members of the public and Liberty students who volunteered to show a video of the cameras at River Ridge Mall.

A funny thing happened to Bev Lowry as she sat in Lynchburg's City Council chambers Tuesday night, patiently waiting her turn to address council.

"I saw there last night and heard all the other requests for money," Lowry said Wednesday, "and though, I'm asking for a lot less than that."

Lowry, a psychology professor at Liberty University, has toiled for two years to raise money for a "thermal imaging camera" for the Lynchburg Fire Department. The technology allows firefighters to "see" through smoke

She had come up with $14,300, and City Council previously had pledged to put up 12 percent of the camera's cost. She came back to ask for that 12 percent -- but did so with the knowledge that the fire department needs two cameras to be able to send one to every fire.

When Lowry approached council, she asked for the 12 percent ($1,950) to buy one camera. Then she spontaneously asked council to put up another $16,250 for a second camera.

Council voted unanimously to do it, bringing to an end Lowry's two-year quest to have a camera at every fire, and bringing Lowry to tears.

"That was not planned," she said Wednesday. "I think that's why I was so excited."

When she made the request, it was suggested to delay voting on the second camera. Councilman Jim Whitaker pushed the suggestion aside, and called for a vote to put up the money for the second camera.

"She challenged council and I responded to her challenge," Whitaker said. "She was willing to go out and raise money for the first camera. We're getting two for the price of one."

Whitaker, other council members and fire chief Fred Mills praised Lowry, and those that donated to her organization, for taking initiative to raise money for the cameras.

Lowry learned about thermal imaging cameras when she saw a piece on them in late 1997 on an ABC television news program. She was struck by the cameras' ability to save lives in precarious situations.

"I called the fire department and they said they had eight stations and no cameras," Lowry said. "I said, 'Would you have the chief call me?"

At that time, Mills told Lowry the fire department had no money for the cameras, still an emerging technology. Lowry founded 'Eyes for Life' with a $100 donation of her own.

By detecting sources of heat, thermal imaging cameras provide firefighters trying to peer through opaque smoke images of what lies before them. In a burning home, a firefighter with a camera can see the outline of furniture, pets, and most importantly, people.

Seeing anything at all in the midst of a fire is nearly impossible without such technology, Mills said.

"In a normal structure fire, there is zero visibility," he said. "Firefighters are taught that if you can't see you r feet, get down and crawl. You use your sense of feel, find a wall and keep the wall on your right hand."

Mills said the cameras will also be used before firefighters enter a building, to determine the hottest spots, and to do the same after a fire is close to extinguished.

Lowry's quest isn't ended, however. She is sticking to her original goal to have a camera at each of the fire department's eight stations in the city.

On March 28, Liberty University professor Bev Lowry officially presented the Lynchburg Fire Department with two new thermal imaging cameras.

The cameras, which sell for about $16,000 each, help firefighters as they are searching for victims in darkened, smoke-filled buildings. They make it possible for those trapped in fires to be seen through the camera screen when they would otherwise have been invisible to those searching for them.

"I used to think that if my house caught fire I would have time to collect my photos, because they are very precious to me and are irreplaceable," Lowry said. "After a lot of research and contact with fire experts, I have learned that there is no time for that."

After seeing an installment of "Dateline" where three children were killed in a fire in Georgia. Lowry began her crusade to do her part in making sure that never happens in Lynchburg. In fact, two cameras presented last Tuesday were only the beginning for Lowry, as she would like to see all eight of Lynchburg's fire departments furnished with this technology.

If every there was an instance of a "regular person" seeing a need in the community and working toward that end, this is it. We salute Mrs. Lowry not only for the work she's done on our behalf, but also for her efforts to better the entire Lynchburg community.