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The first sensors from BAE should have been in the hands of rescue workers last night, said Al Dirsa, manager of BAE's Lexington, Mass., plant. More will arrive today and in the following days. The plant is part of Nashua-based BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems.
Several of the infrared cameras used by the New York City Fire Department were lost when the towers collapsed on the firefighters within. That has created a desperate shortage of cameras for those working to release victims trapped under the debris, Dirsa said.
BAE makes the core of the cameras. The plant, manned by volunteer BAE workers, has started 24-hour, seven-day manufacturing of those cores. Several workers and extra equipment are being pulled off other projects to help produce the cameras as quickly as possible.
They are being sent out as they are made. The cameras are able to detect body heat and are an invaluable instrument for the rescue effort.
BAE has already sent 15 cores. The cores were rushed to Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Mass., and from there a Civil Air Patrol airplane flew them to Pittsburgh where another company is finishing the cameras.
The cameras are then being flown into New York were they get a New York State Police escort into the city. "It generally takes a long time to make these, but people have volunteered to work second and third shifts. We hope to get some 200 to 300 of the cameras into the hands of rescue workers by next week," Dirsa said.
"This is a people story. People are working to save lives. It is great for the employees because it takes away that helpless feeling. People here just want to help," Dirsa said.
The company can make from 12 to 15 of the cores a day, but with the extra workers and quickly modified equipment, Dirsa is hopeful that they can increase that to between 25 and 30 a day. "We are pulling people off other project lines to assist in this."
The company is not worried about the cost of the cameras. "We are going to donate a good portion of these. The company is willing to accept that cost in order to do the right thing for our country," Dirsa said.
Brad Leighton can be reached at 594-6446.