Behind the Smoke (2023)

When responding to any fire, the main objective for firefighters is to extinguish it as quickly as possible and protect the public from exposure. In the process, firefighters put themselves in harms way. Not just from the fire itself, but with what lurks within. After the fire is out they continue to sift through the rubble looking for hot spots or anything that could put the community in danger. Closer and closer they approach the toxic by-products of combustion. Hazardous gases created by things that were never meant to be burned, hidden behind the smoke. Symptoms don't surface for years while others have immediate respiratory problems. This documentary is meant to bring to light the issues that firefighters and their families faces later in life when the firefighter association and government resources are no longer available to them. Cancer can take more firefighters than anything else on the job. Behind the Smoke is a representative voice of every firefighter, "I was called to save lives, who is called to save mine?"