A House Fire Through A Sacramento Firefighter's Eyes

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Helmet cameras give a look through the eyes of a firefighter at what it takes to fight a fire. Sacramento Fire Department released footage of a house fire in South Sacramento last week, which they use as a training tool to see first hand the dos and don'ts.

Inside a home burning down, it's a crystal clear view of what firefighters do day in and day out.

Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Chris Harvey says, "Visibility can be very limited, it can be very hard to see inside. We don't often get helmet cam video that's this clear."

A walk in their shoes, as they walk through the door. During a house fire last week in South Sacramento, a firefighter captain makes a smart move the moment he walks in, to suffocate the flames.

"As you can see the captain has gone in and identified that this room is on fire and the first thing he does is shut that door," says Harvey.

The roaring and relentless fire makes its way from outside, in. The firefighter graciously moves throughout the home, around each corner, and through each door and puts out massive flames.

Sacramento Fire Department was one of the first agencies in the country to purchase helmet cams for its force and says they're a valuable training tool.

"It will help us know what went right, what went wrong. Something always goes wrong. There's always something we can learn for next time."

Harvey says helmet cams are a benefit to the public as well. Firefighters hope those who watch videos of house or building fires, will also prepare should tragedy strike them.

"If you see a video of a house on fire and it makes you rethink your safety then I think that's a great thing in the long run."

Sacramento Fire hopes to be able to budget in more of the helmet cams, so it can eventually capture all of its structure fires and grass fires one day.