Exposing career choices
<p>Jerome Green, left, a film producer, talks with Warren Merritt, fire chief of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, before filming a scene Wednesday for a fire science and law enforcement community awareness video Green is producing.</p>
POST FALLS - Jerome Green wants to connect the dots between education and emergency careers.
His tool of doing so is a vocational video with interviews of the professionals.
Green is co-producer of a video that includes messages from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Warren Merritt and Post Falls Police Capt. Pat Knight.
"The video is intended to help students learn the value of vocational programs," Green said. "These people put their lives on the line, but they're also involved in community activities."
The video, which will be distributed to schools and posted on agencies' websites, is expected to be finished in April. Green and co-producer John Mashtare of Spokane County Fire are volunteering their time to produce it.
The video will include footage from a recent fire in Spokane.
Merritt calls the fire service a "noble profession."
"Citizens invite us in on their worst possible day and they trust us in our role," Merritt said. "There is such a trust among the public."
Merritt, a third-generation firefighter, said he was raised with the motto of service before self. That's what drew him to the fire career.
"I saw how important it was to my dad," he said. "He gave me a strong belief in public service. I've held that to this day. It's about helping neighbors in a time of need."
Knight said that, while there's plenty of unfortunate scenarios police come across, it's a rewarding career.
"It's definitely not about the pay; it's about making a difference in people's lives," said Knight, who has been in the profession for 19 years.
Green said he has learned how the fire and police department have collaborated for the common good.
Last year KCFR donated five automated external defibrillators (AEDs) - portable devices that treat patients in some emergency situations with electrical therapy - valued at $1,200 each to the police department.
Such camaraderie is good for youngsters or those interested in the fields to know about, Green said.
The video also exposes the technical training, including swift water rescues and rapelling from cliffs, that is required of rescue responders today.
"People do more daring things than they did before," Green said.
Green said the video project is also rewarding on a personal level.
Green said his son, Shawn, had a troubled background, but got on the right path thanks to a construction apprenticeship program.
He hopes the video will help steer students in the right direction, keep them out of trouble and expose them to vocational choices.
"You can lead them to the water, but you can't force them to drink," he said.
Green is also working on a documentary on the history of transportation in the region, dating back to the steamboats on Lake Coeur d'Alene, that is expected to air on KSPS later this year.