Structural fire departments in recent years have discovered the value of thermal imaging cameras to detect dangerous heat sources that could ignite fires, find lingering heat hidden behind walls, and even locate fallen firefighters in a smoky environment. Most of those cameras start at $4,000 and can cost over $10,000.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, FLIR, which manufactures some of these high-end forward looking infrared cameras, unveiled a $350 thermal imager that fits over the iPhone 5 or 5S like a protective case. Called the FLIR ONE, the company said it will be available in the spring of 2014. An Android version should be out later in the year.

Using an infrared imaging smart phone in a burning structure is not feasible, but wildland firefighters might find it useful for locating very small lighting-strike fires or finding the last heat sources during mop-up. Or, for example, after the snow has melted, are any of those burn piles we lit two weeks ago still smoldering?

(UPDATE January 31, 2014)

Some images have been posted on the company’s web site that they captured using the first run of FLIR ONE cameras.