Hermon Fire Department Video Gives A First-Hand Look At Firefighting

Thankfully, most of us will never see a house fire in the up-close-and-personal way firefighters do on a regular basis. The closest we may ever come is to see the special effects movie magicians put together CGI scenarios for the big and small screens.

The scripted excitement and danger captured in movies and television really don't compare to the reality our first responders face when battling an actual blaze, in person.

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The Hermon Fire Department gave us a glimpse of a more realistic view this week, posting this amazing video on its Facebook Page today.

According to Hermon Fire, the video was made with a "Helmet Cam."

"This is a helmet-mounted small camera that is resistant to heat and water. The firefighter turns it on and forgets it. They deliver pretty good video. The initial video was recorded on our dash-mounted vehicle camera. These cameras turn on when the truck starts and records to an SD card. It is great for training, as is the helmet cam footage, and also can be used for scene documentation purposes in some instances."

The footage is from an incident in Bangor this past March, that Hermon Fire responded to. Hermon Fire was in Bangor, providing mutual aid coverage to Bangor Firefighters, who were already engaged in fighting a fire in the City.  So the Hermon Fire Department was sent to this fire on Carroll St.

"This video gives a great look at our work from a firefighters perspective not often seen by the public. We are always glad to be of assistance to our neighboring communities and we most certainly appreciate the times they come to our aid in Hermon as well!"

In this case, the fire took about 2 hours to knock down.

Appreciative residents took to the Facebook comment section to thank Hermon Fire for posting the video, citing that it helped give people an idea of just how intense firefighting can be.

One contributor even wrote:

"Your job is not an easy one, nor fully appreciated by the public what all you actually do daily, but we are grateful for all you do from fighting fires to spending time educating the public to the drive-by birthday salutes. Thank you, it is nice to know you are but a call away!!"

I think, aside from the intensity of the gig, this video shows the incredible level of teamwork and communication that goes into that job. In my humble opinion, one of the most striking things about the video, that makes it hit so close to home, is that those aren't actors who retire back to an airconditioned trailer after every take; Those are fathers and brothers and sisters and neighbors, who live among us, and put their life on the line to keep others safe, every single day.

Thank you, firefighters, for all you do.