David Hernandez
David Hernandez combined his two loves — firefighting and photography — to show the world the dangers firefighters face, even after being sidelined by an injury himself.
David Hernandez has lots of ways to understand why he got hurt, but basically it comes down to this: Fighting fires is perilous work.
“If you get so invested in something, if you spend so much time in a danger- ous occupation, something is bound to happen. I am just glad to be home. I am glad I did not lose a limb or get disfigured,” he says. “I think it was the universe pushing me in a different direction in my career.”
And that’s just what happened. But let’s back up a bit, and get to know Hernandez.
A native of Medford, New Jersey, Hernandez still lives in his hometown. He graduated from Drexel in 2009 as a communications major, doing co-op work in newspapers as a photographer. After graduation he continued firefighting work he’d begun in high school, inspired by his stepfather, a longtime firefighter.
“The fire community is its own world. Once you are in it, your whole family is in it. Everybody is involved,” he says. “I’d hang out on the weekends, help them wash the trucks, and at home you get to hear all the stories. So that became what I wanted to do.”
That passion came with a price. On April 24, 2015, Hernandez was trapped inside a house while trying to locate a fire. The building exploded. A door flew across the room and hit him in the head. The room caught fire. He found an exit door, got it open and dragged another firefighter out with him.
He was almost in the clear, when fate stepped in. Hernandez fell down the stairs, suffered a herniated disc and saw his firefighting career end in an instant.
There’s a lot a person can do at a time like that. Hernandez paused, regrouped and returned to his other passion: photography. He launched a production company and created a television series about firefighting, “Into the Smoke.” His hope is to give people an honest depiction of the firefighter’s calling.
“Everybody likes the big red truck and the lights and sirens, but it’s more than just that,” he says.
“It’s about being able to help somebody. When you call 911, that is most likely the worst moment of your life, and our goal at that point is to help: To help, to save life and property,” he says. “You see something like a photo album that is able to get wet, you pick it up.”
Driven by first-hand, helmet- mounted views of the action, “Into the Smoke” has gone beyond TV, with images posted to Facebook as well as a blog. Hernandez’s team has hosted training days to give people a taste of the activities carried out by the firefighting community, all in an effort to further the public understanding of what the work entails.
At the same time, Hernandez is working another avenue, shooting and editing video for the National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation.
“I am alive; there are things that I can do,” he says. “I feel like I have brought it full circle.”
— Adam Stone
