PASADENA — They probably won’t get an Emmy award any time soon, but members of the Deer Lake Search and Rescue unit could see themselves on television in the near future.
A camera crew from the Discovery Channel visited Universal Helicopters in Pasadena Thursday where the search and rescue crew performed training that involved rappelling off helicopters from approximately 100 feet in the air while being filmed.
The crew was in town filming a pilot for a show that spotlights companies like Universal that provide helicopter service. There’s no set name for the show, but Discovery Channel director Stavros Stavrides said the working title is Rotor Heads.
Stavrides said the show goes along with the genre of what he called occupational series, or shows that feature ordinary people in unusual or dangerous jobs, like fishing or driving through rough conditions for a living.
“This is interesting work, it’s very specialized work that they do,” he said. “Helicopters are needed in a lot of areas, and what they go through, that’s where the drama comes in.”
Deer Lake Search and Rescue executive director Darren Williams, said the group was only too happy to help out when the request came in from the provincial search and rescue unit in St. John’s. The fairly impromptu training session was paid for by the Discovery Channel.
“We need this training anyway, and any time we can get it and not have to pay for it, it’s great,” said Williams. “Plus if we do make it on TV it could help us, people may see us in a different light, and realize that what we do isn’t boring.”
There is no word yet as to when, or if, the pilot could make it to air.
