‘What’s it like charging into a burning building? GoPro recently shared a raw POV video that takes viewers into the intense smoky heat of a firefighter’s experience.
That firefighter is Joseth Abel Espinosa, a member of the Third Fire Company in Nunoa, a commune located in the northeastern area of Santiago, Chile’s capital. Wearing a GoPro mountable action camera, Espinosa rushes to extinguish a fire engulfing a home there. “While the house was lost, thankfully nobody was injured as a result,” GoPro reports.
The clip, posted to YouTube last week, lasts almost three and a half minutes and shows Espinosa pointing his firehose at pockets of flames as burning debris falls around him. The footage immerses you in thick, dark smoke so visceral you can almost smell it and feel it in your lungs. Sounds of fluid hitting fire, heavy breathing and firefighters shouting instructions heighten the intensity, making your adrenaline rise along with theirs.
“We thank our first responders and everyday heroes for their selfless actions day in and day out,” GoPro wrote when sharing the video.
The company often shares thrilling (and sometimes terrifying) point-of-view footage shot with its cameras, showing everything from close encounters with great white sharks to parachute malfunctions and surfers getting caught inside massive waves. The heart-pumping videos routinely pull in many thousands of views. The firefighting vid has already amassed more than 700,000, with many viewers expressing awe at the courage firefighters display.
“This is what bravery looks like,” YouTube user Daniel Flaherty wrote. “Mad respect to those who run towards the fire.” Wrote Diego Fontanini, “Firefighter is such a fitting name. This almost feels like war footage.”
While not required, some firefighters wear body cameras to capture footage that can enhance training and provide valuable visual and audio evidence. Some body cams have livestreaming capabilities, which allows commanders back at the station to guide their teams through challenging situations.
Today’s ubiquitous cameras routinely offer a front-row seat to dramatic sights. A couple of months back, the Tulsa Fire Department in Oklahoma shared home security footage of a fire sparking as a dog chewed through a portable phone charger containing a lithium-ion battery. Firefighters shared the footage as a warning to consumers to handle the popular power sources correctly.
Like the video shared by the Tulsa Fire Department, GoPro’s POV footage goes straight into the heart of a life-threatening situation, offering a look at the dangers firefighters face firsthand.
