In February we showed you a trailer for a short film made by The Story Group that premiered later that month, titled Unacceptable Risk: Firefighters on the Front Lines of Climate Change. Now the entire 12-minute film is available — above.
Here is the description of the film on Vimeo:
…The Story Group [based in Boulder, Colorado] recorded the experiences of firefighters who are repeatedly responding to record-breaking wildfires. Human-caused climate changes are transforming Colorado’s fire environment, bringing higher temperatures, drier fuels, and diseases to forests. These climate impacts mix with other human pressures to create a volatile situation for firefighters and communities. If current trends continue, we can expect more frequent, larger, and more devastating wildfires in Colorado and across the country.
It is really an excellent film. A great deal of information is packed into 12 minutes. What makes it special are the interviews with experienced firefighters who all testify to seeing fire behavior in the last decade or so that to their knowledge is unprecedented, at least in the front range of Colorado. The firefighters interviewed are all very well spoken and have something worthwhile to say.
They include Don Whittemore, an Incident Commander and a firefighter for 22 years; Chris O’Brien, Deputy Chief of the Lefthand Fire Protection District; Rod Moraga, Fire Behavior Analyst, firefighter for 28 years; and James Schanel, Battalion Chief, Colorado Springs Fire Department, firefighter for 30 years.
At the end they make a pitch about climate change, emphasizing how important it is to mitigate it NOW. And they are absolutely right. But there is a strong message for firefighters who are being forced to deal with a new normal. Mr. Whittemore said:
On a day to day basis we’re being surprised. And in this business, surprise is what kills people.
The visuals of wildfire are impressive — the videos, photographs, and time-lapse images.
The film can also be seen on Rocky Mountain PBS television. We can’t embed it here, but that version also includes interviews (beginning at 13:00) with Mr. Moraga and filmmaker Daniel Glick.
We received the following from Ted Wood of The Story Group, an Executive Producer and Camera Operator on the film:
The Story Group is funded entirely through grants and donations, and we’re trying to recoup some of our distribution costs by pointing people to our pay-per-download Vimeo site, where people who want to use the film for fire presentations, workshops, etc can pay $9.95 and download it. We’ve had a real interest from Colorado fire managers to use the film in training, and we’d like to offer it to a larger national audience.
The Westcat group acknowledges and supports the role, courage, and efforts put forth by firefighters battling these raging forest fires and the changing environment. We are hoping that soon our knowledge and monitoring systems can be put into place to help deter and prevent these fires to the best of our ability and get out there and help on the front lines. Keep the Fight Alive.
– Westcats
Very well done video. Thanks Bill for sharing it with us. The producer needs to get it out to the general public as a PSA. With some sort of compensation as well. Education is the key.
I’d like to buy this film, for showing to small groups in the Boulder, CO., area. Is there a way?
The instructions are in the article, but here’s the link.
Hi Mary. You can also get a free DVD if you want to use it within Colorado. You can request that DVD here. You can also get our discussion guide here to help you plan and make the most of the screenings: http://unacceptableriskfilm.org/discussion-guide/
Here’s that link to request the DVD http://form.jotformpro.com/form/50695730285966