The firefighters of LA Fire & Rescue don’t hesitate when it comes to running into a burning building. In a PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of Wednesday’s all-new episode of the NBC series documenting the day-to-day inner workings of fire stations throughout LA County, Compton’s Station 41 responds to a house fire that could turn deadly for any possible residents trapped inside.
Every second is crucial as LA Engine 41 rushes toward the heavy smoke and fire seen consuming a single-family home. Capt. Scott Woods quickly takes charge, ordering an “aggressive interior fire attack” before passing command to the next engine to arrive. “At this time of night we could have people trapped, so my mindset is on life right now,” Woods explains later in a confessional. “We gotta make sure everybody’s out of this house.”
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With search and rescue as the number one priority, Woods calls in rookie “Boot” firefighter Erin Scuoler to take the nozzle and follow him inside. “This is it. So to have Captain Woods tell me to take the nozzle, I was ready for it,” she tells the camera. “I was not gonna say no and I was not gonna apologize to take that and go in there.” Woods wants Scuoler on the hose with him during her first house fire not only to allow her to prove herself but also to keep everyone safe. “I want her on the tip because this is her first house fire, so I wanna make sure that all her stuff’s on,” he shares. “If anything goes wrong with her, I’m right there to grab her and we can make it back out.”
Inside the burning home, Woods coaches Scuoler through her next steps, and she’s immediately in her element. “I’m not able to see, it’s a moth to the flame,” she recalls later. “You can see the flames coming out of the bedroom, so it’s definitely get as close as you possibly can, as low as you possibly can, and really try and find the seed of the fire so that you’re not just spraying water for the sake of it.” Scuoler admits, “It goes against like, every fiber in your body to go into a burning building. No matter how much gear you think you have on, it’s never enough. … It’s definitely a lot of pressure, but it’s what I’ve trained for and it’s what I live for at the end of the day.” LA Fire & Rescue airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and streams the following day on Peacock.
