Series
Life and Times
Episode Number
No. 411
Episode
Firefight
Producing Organization
KCET (Television station : Los Angeles, Calif.)
Contributing Organization
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-526-pg1hh6dc7r
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Description
Episode Description
"In the fall of 1993 much of Southern California was engulfed in a firestorm as over a dozen major fires erupted in a two week period. Most television in this region trained its cameras on the mesmerizing images of flames and the heart breaking stories of people who lost their homes and lives. Public television station KCET tried a different approach: we directed our cameras on [the firefighters] who risked their lives to fight and contain two of the most [destructive] fires (Thousand Oaks and Malibu). "FIREFIGHT brings viewers as close as possible to the emotional and physical dangers involved in facing down a firestorm (the program includes home video, shot by ordinary citizens and firefighters on the line). "'I know I'm going to heaven when I die,' one firefighter says, 'because I've already gone to hell.' 'This is like war,' another person says, and indeed it is. People die in this war while survivors often experience something akin to post-traumatic stress syndrome. Among those profiled is Captain John Moland of Ventura County Fire Department. Just before the fires he had been voted Firefighter of the Year in his country. During the Thousand Oaks fire, he and his firefighters came close to being very badly burned. 'I heard a roar and I think it's an air drop of fire retardant,' Moland says, 'but it's the fire coming roaring over the ridge. Suddenly everything just ignited.' Moland recreates his experience -- not only for viewers but as a way of excising his own fears. "FIREFIGHT is hosted by former Los Angeles City Firefighter Henry Johnson. FIREFIGHT was a special presentation of KCET's nightly public affairs series, LIFE AND TIMES."-- 1993 Peabody Awards entry form.
Broadcast Date
1993-12-07
Asset type
Episode
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:38:07.318
Embed Code
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Credits
Producing Organization: KCET (Television station : Los Angeles, Calif.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-6ad1302e398 (Filename)
Format: U-matic
Duration: 0:40:00
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Citations
Chicago: “Life and Times; No. 411; Firefight,” 1993-12-07, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 29, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-pg1hh6dc7r.
MLA: “Life and Times; No. 411; Firefight.” 1993-12-07. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-pg1hh6dc7r>.
APA: Life and Times; No. 411; Firefight. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-pg1hh6dc7r