Tag Archives: Hellfire Heroes

Discovery launches colossal fall season during month-long free preview beginning October 10

From a media release:

Gripping roadside rescue operations, thrilling train adventures, fearless firefighting heroes, and thought-provoking insights into hate and the human experience are all part of a jam-packed lineup of hit series this fall on Discovery, and everyone has a chance to check it out.

On the heels of Discovery’s free preview, the channel also announced today new seasons of two marquee Canadian original series. Continuing its reign as Discovery’s most-watched series, HIGHWAY THRU HELL begins production on Season 9 this fall. Discovery’s Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) is also currently in production on a fourth season of MIGHTY TRAINS, with filming taking place in exotic locations around the world including Peru, Japan, Serbia, and more.

Below is a closer look at Discovery’s new and returning programming highlights during the free preview. All programming is subject to change (visit Discovery.ca to confirm local broadcast times and to view the full schedule).

HIGHWAY THRU HELL, Season 8
Premieres Monday, October 7 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT (new day and time) and continues with all-new episodes during the free preview

  • Discovery’s smash-hit original Canadian series returns for another epic season, with 17 all-new episodes following the hardworking and heroic heavy recovery operators who fight to keep the roads open through British Columbia’s Coquihalla and Cascade mountains. This season, Jamie Davis continues to lean on his classic collection of “old iron” to tackle some of the toughest recoveries, but his crew is buzzing with excitement at the prospect of something shiny and new coming to the yard. Change is also in the air for lead-operator Colin Mclean, when developments in his personal life lead him to question his future in the tow business. Then, 100 kilometres north of Hope, B.C., Reliable Towing’s resilience is tested like never before when one of their own is caught up in a terrifying event on the highway. Quiring Towing’s Al Quiring and Gord Boyd tackle some of the heaviest off-road jobs imaginable, while down in the Fraser Valley at Aggressive Towing, Jamie’s brother Jason and his top man Chris ‘Merv’ Mervyn’s modern rotators are in high demand. Just down the road, 63-year-old heavy rescue legend Ken Duperon continues to lead Mission Towing, but when he’s struck down by an urgent medical crisis, his son-in-law and lead-driver Dylan Greenwood must step up. HIGHWAY THRU HELL marks its milestone 100th episode this season, before just-announced Season 9 begins production.

MIGHTY TRAINS, Season 3
Premieres Sunday, October 13 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

  • Host Teddy Wilson whisks viewers around the world to witness the inner workings of six exceptional trains and their scenic locomotive routes. This season, Teddy rolls along Norway’s scenic Bergen Line, and uncovers how some of the fastest trains in the world are built at an Italian train company owned by the chairman of Ferrari. Then, it’s off to the Indian Pacific train for a bucket-list journey across southern Australia, and on to the colourful trains of the Thailand State Railway to traverse beautiful but deadly landscapes. This season’s adventures are capped off by a trip through historic routes and impressive scenery aboard South Africa’s most luxurious train, the Pride of Africa, and a wintery journey aboard Switzerland’s Bernina Express, one of the most beautiful train trips on earth. Produced by Discovery’s Exploration Production Inc. (EPI), MIGHTY TRAINS is set to air in more than 100 countries around the world, spanning the U.K., Germany, Australia, France, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and throughout Asia, with Season 4 now in production.

HITLER’S MOST WANTED
Premieres Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

  • This original Canadian docuseries presents a new perspective on how and why a generation of men and women living in a European society became the leaders of one of the most terrifying regimes of all time, responsible for starting a world war that resulted in more than 60 million deaths. Visiting the villages and towns where these elite Nazi leaders grew up, as well as the sites of their worst atrocities, dedicated young historian James Ellis explores the defining moments which transformed everyday Germans into mass murderers. As knowledge of the Third Reich recedes from society’s collective memory, this docu-series examines the key personalities of the Third Reich to determine what happened and ensure that the lessons of history are never forgotten.

HELLFIRE HEROES, Season 2
Premieres Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

  • In the coastal towns, wildlands, and prairies of the Canadian West, there lives a special breed of firefighter. These are the men and women who serve and protect the communities in which they live with bravery and devotion. The stress is high and there’s no room for error as each fire department responds to a relentless battery of emergency calls. With remote and unmarked roads, fast-flowing rivers, roaming wildlife, and a steady stream of transport trucks and freight trains barreling through their towns, these firefighting teams face life-altering challenges on a daily basis. Returning with a fresh batch of eight episodes, Season 2 of this Discovery original series sees the return of Chief Albert Bahri and Chief Jamie Coutts from Northern Alberta, as well as two new fire departments from Port Alberni, British Columbia and Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
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Everyday heroes grab the spotlight in Discovery’s Hellfire Heroes

There’s a saying being used on social media about not all heroes wearing capes. While it’s mostly being used in a cute or funny way, it’s apt when describing the folks in Discovery’s newest original series.

Bowing Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery, Hellfire Heroes follows the firefighters of central Alberta who put their lives on the line every day in remote communities. Far from the big cities of the province, the men and women of the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service and Yellowhead County Fire Department are charged with keeping folks and properties safe without the things we take for granted in larger communities.

Tuesday’s debut episode focuses on one of those differences when an expansive trailer home goes up in flames: a water source. With no fire hydrant system to use, the Lesser Slave squad relies on the water they’ve trucked into the site to knock the fire down. But the warren of buildings threatens the lives of two firefighters who’ve headed into the blaze.

We spoke to two members of the Yellowhead County Fire Department—Chief Albert Bahri and Lieutenant Gabriella Sundstrom (left in the image above)—about the show, why they chose this profession, what they hope viewers take away from watching Hellfire Heroes and what you can do to help out.

I’ve watched the first episode of Hellfire Heroes and it’s very dramatic stuff.
Chief Albert Bahri: This is what we do daily. A lot of people look at it and say it’s dramatic but for us, it’s what we do every day and a realistic view of what we do.

Chief Albert Bahri

It’s one thing to do your jobs every day, but it’s another to have television cameras and a production crew follow you while you do that. Did you have any reservations about being followed?
AB: Absolutely. Our job is to keep people safe or make people safe and keep our personnel safe. We do that very well, and when you bring in somebody from the outside that isn’t part of the team and that zone of safety that we have created, how do you deal with that and how do you bring them in so that they’re safe? We had huge reservations but they were alleviated when we looked the guys and started to work with them. We provided a great deal of training as well, so they knew when we needed to zag, they needed to zig and vice versa, to make sure they were in the right spot but also the safe spot. As a fire chief and a director here, in the beginning, it was interesting to see how to film this, while keeping in mind that you’re coming into someone’s life that is maybe the worst time in their life. The crews were spectacular.

Lieutenant Gabriella Sundstrom: At first, I thought it might be interesting to see how it went and then it turned out to be great. The guys had a lot of questions and they learned very quickly how to move with us and work with us.

One thing I noticed going through the biographies of so many of the firefighters involved is that this career goes through generations of families. Gabby, why is that?
GS: It’s kind of a community service. A lot of people want to help their communities somehow, whatever that may be. And I think the other part of it is the fire service has a huge tradition of honour and pride that people take in the service that they do. When you get a taste for that, it’s really hard to do anything else.

AB: When you have family members that he been involved in it, you’re very interested. My son, from the age of four, has been interested. I was intrigued as a younger person as well from my father who was in the military but had done some firefighting with that. It’s a huge community, a huge family, that you are part of. You actually have two families to turn to and they become intertwined and intermingled quickly. My son is a firefighter now and my daughter is interested in it. A lot of the people we have, they’ve gotten the bug from a family member.

What’s the bug? Is it to help people? Is it the adrenaline rush?
AB: I think it’s a combination of many things. I think a big part of it is to give back, as Gabby said, to your community. You want to help people. There is a great adrenaline rush. I remember my first call and the rush. Even now when a call comes in, it’s still there. But when you get it, you can’t get rid of it.

I live in Toronto, where fire hydrants are plentiful. Where you’re fighting fires, there just aren’t. What kind of logistical nightmare does that pose?
AB: That’s one of the things that, for me, made the show special. You look at the size of our area—22,000 square kilometres—and we don’t have any of those water supply areas in our rural spot. We have to bring it by truck. We have to find, once we empty that truck, where to refill. We have to strategically locate those areas. In Alberta, there are two seasons, winter and construction, and in winter there’s five feet of ice you have to cut through. We have to overcome that and it’s a huge struggle. We have very large water tankers and we are also locating tanks that we have put in the ground and insulated so we have water stored so we can go and take water out of those tanks.

What do you want viewers to come away with when they watch Hellfire Heroes?
GS: I hope they walk away with a better understanding of all the things that we do and the pride that we take in providing the best services that we can to people. And, when you see those flashing lights, pull over and let us get past you.

AB: I want them to see what we really do. I want them to see the size of our area but I want them to look at the whole service in general across Canada and say, ‘Is there a place that I can go and volunteer and get involved in this?’ Our volunteer membership across Canada is decreasing. My hope is to bring an awareness of what you can do and how to do it so that people can come forward and say, ‘I’d like to try that.’ You don’t know if you like it until you try it, so we’re more than willing to accept anybody that wants to try.

Hellfire Heroes airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Discovery’s newest original Canadian series Hellfire Heroes battles through the untamed flames, beginning May 22

From a media release:

In the fierce wilderness of Central Alberta, a uniquely versatile group of firefighters risk their lives to serve and protect the residents of isolated areas of the province. Discovery’s latest original Canadian series HELLFIRE HEROES, airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT beginning May 22, follows two rural Alberta fire departments – Lesser Slave Lake Regional Fire Service and Yellowhead County Fire Department – and their teams of brave men and women whose job is to always be prepared for the worst.

From the network that brought viewers the heroes of the highway with HIGHWAY THRU HELL and HEAVY RESCUE: 401, the debut of HELLFIRE HEROES further reinforces Discovery’s success in the prime-time space through uniquely Canadian content that tells the stories of authentic, everyday acts of courage. HIGHWAY THRU HELL and HEAVY RESCUE: 401 made Discovery the most-watched entertainment specialty channel in each show’s timeslot among key demographics (P2+, A18-49, and A25-54).

Living in a rural part of Canada where most residents depend only on themselves and their neighbours, the firefighters of the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service (led by Chief Jamie Coutts) and the Yellowhead County Fire Department (led by Chief Albert Bahri) serve and protect a combined area spanning more than 30,000 square kilometres.

Fighting fires is only one of the many calls these heroes answer. Featuring stories of strength, fearlessness, and dedication, the HELLFIRE HEROES never know what challenge they’ll face next – battling raging forest fires, industrial accidents, search-and-rescue operations, saving lives on remote highways, freeing people trapped in elevators…even delivering babies. When the call comes in, day or night, these resourceful teams are united in their mission to keep residents safe.

Subscribers can access live streaming of HELLFIRE HEROES through the Discovery GO app and Discovery.ca.

HELLFIRE HEROES is produced by Pixcom Productions in association with Discovery Canada. Producer is Nicola Merola. Senior Supervising Producer is Manu Wiecha. Series Producer is Sharone Ostrovsky.

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