LA Fire & Rescue is keeping the first responder action going on NBC over the summer between seasons of Chicago Fire. Although both shows are produced by Dick Wolf's Wolf Entertainment (and available streaming via Peacock Premium subscription), the new summer docuseries is an unscripted dive into the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the emergencies that the heroes there handle. This means that the crew of LA Fire & Rescue faced more dangerous situations than they would filming for a typical scripted TV show, and executive producer Rasha Drachkovitch spoke with CinemaBlend about how they were kept safe.
The executive producer confirmed that LA Fire & Rescue is "100% real" with "no scripted scenes" of the heroes of the LA Country Fire Department. When I asked what kind of training was necessary for camera operators and members of the crew when they filmed emergency situations along with the first responders, Drachkovitch explained:
First and foremost, once you get access, obviously the biggest challenge is, how do we cover these very dramatic, in some cases, life and death stories and make sure that the crew and everybody is safe? LA County was very, very helpful there. They gave us training, not only in HIPAA – which is the health information privacy act for the medical calls – but even more importantly, how do we film during a raging brush fire, where things can change dramatically with the winds? We were able to go to train with them.
The first couple episodes of LA Fire & Rescue that have aired on NBC so far already demonstrated just how wide of a variety of crises that the firefighters face across Los Angeles Country, which spans 2,300 square miles of different kinds of terrain. The series gained unprecedented access to filming with the fire department in dangerous situations; according to EP Rasha Drachkovitch, LA County helped to keep everybody safe. He continued:
Actually, our camera crews were quasi-weekend firefighters, wearing the vests and the protection gear and learning about how to capture the story without becoming the story, if you know what I mean. Obviously following the captain's orders when we were out there. It was thrilling, I have to say. It kept us on our toes. Because they helped us manage the training, we were fortunate to all remain safe and sound.
Viewers can rest assured that the crew was safe and protected, no matter how harrowing the footage they captured may look when it airs on NBC. The executive producer had previewed an "even more powerful experience" with LA Fire & Rescue, and two episodes have aired so far to show just how the real stories compare to those in One Chicago with Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med.
Of course, those first two episodes have also shown that there's a lot of heart in LA Fire & Rescue to go along with the crises that required protection gear. The series premiere covered the story of Dave Castellanos, a firefighter from Station 8 in West Hollywood who won his battle against testicular cancer with the help of his fellow firefighters. They worked his shifts for him so that he could undergo treatment and not lose his health insurance. The second episode followed boot firefighter Erin Scuoler throughout her training at Station 41 in Compton, which happens to be the one that receives the most calls in LA County.
The show still has plenty more action on way, as LA Fire & Rescue hasn't yet focused on the lifeguards who are first responders on the beaches of Los Angeles County. See what's in store with new installments of the docuseries on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, ahead of reruns of Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. You can also find some other options on the small screen with our 2023 TV premiere schedule.
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