Producer’s Blog

Website Update Coming...

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:48:54 -0700

During the coming week or two, we’ll be updating the Smoke Eaters website. As our production process is as complex as it is, we’ll be updating how we present videos, how we present our photo galleries, and we’ll provide new and interesting information as we move through the production process.

Above, one of the first images of the new KME triple combination fire engines delivered to the LAFD. It looks like a nice alternative to the traditional Pierce and Seagrave apparatus, although those remain dear to many an LAFD Engineer.

Night Runs

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:41:56 -0700

There’s something about a structure fire response at night. Everything seems more urgent, more dangerous, and your chest tightens up a little bit more. The feeling is pretty specific to structure fires.

In this case, a small fire in the back of an empty home filled the house with smoke. The first-in company reported “smoke showing” and although the fire was knocked down within five minutes, the energy expended during those five minutes was extensive.

Our cameras were there, and we work to capture that energy. We’ll begin to share short and interesting clips as we work through the production process.

Surround and Drown

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:38:22 -0700

It’s been a weird summer. For the most part, it’s been unusually cool. At the same time, there have been an unusual amount of structure and related major emergency and greater alarm fires.

The LAFD is typically known as an aggressive firefighting agency. Interior firefighting and active ventilation and fire suppression are hallmarks of the department. Sometimes however, conditions don’t permit firefighters from “touching the dragon” as they might like.

An example would be this junk yard fire, in which piles of debris ignited (for unknown reasons). The solution chosen by the on-scene incident commander was to protect the exposures (adjacent buildings and businesses), and to drown the fire using portable monitors and ladder pipes. Within the junk yard, a Battalion Chief and a task force used a dozer to move the junk around, permitting the various water streams to douse any flames.

Kids Love Fire Engines

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:34:35 -0700

Separately from the production of our Smoke Eaters documentary film, we are actively involved in fire and life safety education. Every week, we collaborate with LAFD companies and visit LA area schools.

Our program is focused (this year) on 4th and 5th grade students. And, there is no doubt that kids love fire engines. They get to climb all over them, shoot water from a one-inch hose line, and much more as part of the overall education process. The bottom line is that they take key messages home to their parents, including how to create a family escape plan, where to meet outside, how to properly speak with a 911 operator, and what to do relative to ensuring pet safety. To learn more, visit the MySafe:LA website: www.mysafela.org

A Typical Night in the Valley

Fri, 21 May 2010 21:29:41 -0700

This traffic accident (referred to as a “TA” in LAFD parlance) is just part of a typical night in the San Fernando Valley. With so many criss-crossing boulevards, the risk for automobiles merging with other vehicles or pedestrians is significant. We have captured a number of such incidents and will weave them into the story for Smoke Eaters.

In this example, three vehicles collided in an intersection. Two vehicles are visible in the image above, while the third literally flipped through the air and landed against a home (flying over the roof). Minor injuries were the result of this incident, despite the attempt to fly over the moon.