Diane Farr isn’t a firefighter. But she does play one on TV, specifically division chief Sharon Leone in the CBS series Fire Country. That’s entailed her working closely with wildland firefighting experts on the set. Farr’s living in the Los Angeles area has also brought her close-up views of the havoc that wildfires can wreak. Therefore, it isn’t too far a stretch, so to speak, for Farr to want more people to know the facts behind wildfires and the many wildland firefighters who have selflessly been combating this increasing threat. After all, there’s a whole lot of surprise, surprise misinformation and disinformation out there about wildfires that’s been spreading like, well, wildfire.
Fire Country Is Diane Farr’s Third Firefighting Role
Fire Country actually isn’t the first time that Farr has played a firefighter. As Farr related during a recent conversation, “[When you are starting as an actor], you don’t really know where you’re going to end up doing most of your work. But for whatever reason this is the third time I’ve played a firefighter, so I have about 25 years of working with three different kinds of firefighters.” She chronicled to me this firefighter acting journey: “The first one was a structural firefighter, which is what everybody knows, when I was on Rescue Main. I trained in three different firehouses because at the time it was really hard to find a woman in a firehouse.”
Farr emphasized the differences between wildland firefighters and structural firefighters, shedding light on the unique challenges each face in their line of work.
Farr Has Seen Los Angeles Wildfires Up Close And Personal
The plot is timely because here’s a news flash: wildfires have become bigger and bigger problems with each passing year. Just take a look at the August 2024 post on the World Resources Institute website entitled “The Latest Data Confirms: Forest Fires Are Getting Worse.” Take a wild guess as to what that post said. Yes, it provided lots of data, you know the stuff that should be used to make decisions, showing how wildfires have been increasing in frequency and intensity recently.
Farr’s home was rather close to where the wildfires were raging in January. She mentioned how the fires were moving her direction, forcing her to evacuate her house for nine days, before they shifted directions. She also talked about how she learned how to pump water from the swimming pool onto the house to make the house less hospitable for flames. However, she did emphasize that her training on the TV and movie sets doesn’t make her a firefighter, “I have I have a good deal of training to know what [wildfires and places at risk for wildfires] look like. I couldn’t actually help in a fire.”
Farr Emphasizes The Differences Between Wildland Firefighters And Structural Firefighters
Farr related the following: “One of the most terrifying things that I had heard was after the LA fires, it was the beginning of the year that our departments had used up all of their overtime for the year, already. And we had not started fire season, so I don’t know how this is going to go this summer.”
While structural firefighters typically wait in the firehouse before responding to calls and alarms, wildland firefighters spend much of their time in camps, close to where the wildfires may be. Their work involves not only putting out fires but also trying to adjust the direction that fires are going and protecting the buildings and areas that need to be protected.
Farr Is Trying To Bring More Attention To The Incarcerated Program
As seen in the plot description, Fire Country is bringing more attention to the incarcerated program for wildland firefighters. Farr described how this has been a very successful program since it not only fills a major personnel need but helps those who have been incarcerated.
Farr Is Trying To Bring More Attention To Wildfires In General
Speaking of “hurt” and “society,” that’s what’s going to continue to happen if there isn’t more attention and resources paid to addressing climate change and wildfires. Farr agreed that this is the case with wildfires too. She is already seeing much less attention to wildfires after the January wildfires passed. Farr talked about how more resources need to be dedicated to preventing and combating wildfires and how firefighters should be paid more.
