These videos, where a professional rates scenes from TV and movies, has become my favorite type of videos on RU-vid! It's always interesting to listen to someone talk about things they have knowledge of and passion for, even if initially the subject doesn't interest me.
this is epic...man,this guy is awesome..he is so humble but so well educated in his profession..i love to hear how he talks about his coleagues and even mention that he likes to see EVERYBODY HELP in major fires and emergencies...those are the real heroes in real life and we should see more of this...Thank you insider
Retired firefighter. 22 years. 9/11 SAR( Honor to give closure to some families but I didn’t find anyone) It is ironic how many things he said that I was thinking.
That comforts me a little because for some reason I've been "practicing" being blind in my home...mostly out of curiosity as to how screwed I'd be if I lost my sight...I've actually got everything mapped out pretty well but it still involves a lot of feeling around which wouldn't be helpful if I'm actually surrounded by fire but it would be fine if it's low visibility. Embarrassingly, I've started doing this after seeing an episode or two of criminal minds where killers cut off the power of the house or blind the victims and I thought to myself that they should know the layout of their own homes better than that... Now I'm thinking I should practice being blind and crawling around on the floor... I take a weird sense of pride knowing I'm prepared for a fire or serial killer...both are highly unlikely but the skills have helped during power outages at night
Any firefighter would probably do this with you if you provide snacks and drinks! I grew up in the fire station a lot as a kid because my dad was a firefighter and my friends and I loved that movie. I started firefighting in middle school and kept doing it in various states as I got older. Ladder 49 is probably better for realism (like how many times do you see firefighters in Backdraft not wearing their masks in fires? I know it's a different era but still, it's outdated for sure), but I won't turn down the chance to watch either movie.
As someone who started as a firefighter and became a cop, both movies mentioned are great and highlight the “cool” aspects of each side. My opinion on backdraft vs end of watch is one is a classic and fun to watch, the other feels so real in *some* points and shows the life of the characters in more ways than just their profession. I love both though, both are top 5 for me!
Also, if we want to talk about underrated movies he didn’t even mention frequency lol. It’s my favorite because the dads a firefighter and the sons a cop and that was literally my life before my dad passed. If you haven’t seen it please give it a shot you won’t regret it!
Growing up with a dad in the fire department I watched The Towering Inferno and Backdraft a lot (then Ladder 49 when it came out, but I had moved out by then). I started firefighting in middle school and continued into my 30s in a few different states. It's an amazing job! So many firefighting movies and shows are barely truth with unnecessary stuff added in (when it's an exciting job already), so I don't watch those Chicago Fire and similar shows. There can be plenty of heartbreak, but the good days always overrode my bad. I've had staircases, walls, and ceilings fall on me, I've been next to a 6 foot tall propane tank blasting fire near me, I've cut apart vehicles and taken people (living and dead) out, and found people and animals in primary searches (the ones we do before a hose line gets into the building), and any time I was thanked for my service I thanked them back for the opportunity to do a job I loved. I'm fairly certain that my firefighting days caused the bulged discs and arthritis in my spine, but it beats the emphysema in others that also led to comorbidity in Covid deaths with other firefighters I knew. I don't regret it because it was not only a great job, but it gives me insight into how selfless my dad was during my childhood as he risked his life to save the lives of strangers, and I had no doubt that he'd do that for me as well.
I grew up with many of my family members in the fire service, which kinda led to the opposite (I saw the job up close, respected it, but knew it wasn't for me). I don't usually watch firefighting movies because I'd rather go spend time talking with my family about that stuff (lots of wild stories between decades of structural and wildland fires), but I'm glad for the knowledge I gained as a kid through being near firefighters, and thankful for the selflessness of folks who choose that line of work. And spending time at the fire stations to visit left me with a lifelong fascination with big machines, chemistry, and physics (doesn't hurt that there was a lot of hazmat training, so later I'd get to hear about fun stuff different chemicals did or how a fission reactor works). I hope whatever you're doing now is treating you well, and the good memories from firefighting keep on outweighing the rough ones.
@@horseenthusiast1250 I can understand that! Firefighting isn't for everyone; my brother spent a bit of time at the stations too (not as much as I did, but he was still exposed to the life) and he was never interested in it. I don't enjoy too many firefighting shows/movies because of all the faults that distract me. This is at least as bad of not worse in space and aviation movies because I've been a pilot since high school and I have four FAA licenses. I hear you on the chemistry and physics in hazmat! That was usually the most interesting thing to me about that topic (and I still love pursuing self study in astrophysics, nuclear physics and reactor engineering, and a few other areas of science).
I really enjoy watching experts on a certain topic give a detailed breakdown of something in plain English for the layman to understand. It's inspiring and informative at the same time.
Ladder 49 and Backdraft were the first 2 firefighting based movies I watched and have loved them ever since. As of about 4 years ago I started leaning stuff to become a firefighter since I'm only in 10th grade.
Be careful watching these movies as they may sway your thinking in the wrong direction, its easy to get wrapped up in the hype remember its fiction, controlled in a studio setting with every safety measure available, in real life its very different there are no safety systems in place only highly skilled, knowledgeable and trained men and women myself included and keep in mind every station varies its techniques, procedures, protocol & equipment to suite there specific roll, place, environment etc....its all basically the same and good luck
@@Aprilsraven629Yes I understand. My uncle was a firefighter for about 15 years then went to law enforcement but I learned alot from him and I'm continuing to learn from my friends within my local fire department.
@@Gaminglessons1.0.1Keep going! Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and are surrounded by those who know what’s up. My husband is a Battalion Chief (I’m a dispatcher) and his advice is always to do your EMT with Fire training. You have more job opportunities than just Fire certificates alone.
This guy is a delight to listen to. He is someone that can definitely talk for ages about his work. As a teen, I did firefighting training. We got the gear and simulated ship. All lined up with the alarms going I got pat on the back using a firehose. The heat was insane. Got pat on the head and I gave my hose to next person in line. Fire fighters are amazing people. Number of years ago, I called in about someone over dosing in the street. These guys knew exactly what to do. He came in and grabbed a pressure point, the guy came to. I was trying to wake him up for over 10 minutes. It's unfortunate it is so regular for them. Someone close to me is a journalist and we hear sirens constantly. They have access to dispatch. It is a constant flow of them responding to "medical aid". It just usually means another over dose. . . Could not begin to imagine the number of things are unreported.
18:23 to 20:04 If I recall correctly, a lot of the TOWERING INFERNO's electrical systems including the sprinklers failed to work properly due to the builder's son-in-law cutting corners by purchasing substandard wiring and other materials.
With the towering inferno bit, those chemicals were out because some parts of the building were under construction. It was the tallest building in the world (fictional) and was in San Francisco. The owner, Mrs. Dunkin opened the building for a party with the mayor to be held on the 135th floor. Than, the water tanks. The sprinkler system wasn’t working on the 81st floor (where the first started) and up. So they had to blow up the water tanks since it held up to 2 million gallons and was enough to drown the fire. So really, I think it was distantly realistic.
Retired female fire suppression lieutenant/department training officer from the ‘80s here. I’m always amazed that the NYFD firefighters always think they are the best at EVERYTHING. Must be nice to know you have multiple apparatus and personnel available to respond if you need it. Also, “no mistakes after your probie year”? You have to learn from mistakes after your first year, too. Try a working structure fire with only one engine and two firefighters total without backup in site. That would never happen in NYC. Plus they wouldn’t understand what to do with a rural wildfire. Sorry, just tired of big city departments that have a “know everything and done everything” attitude, I guess.
4:20 I've been told a Mule kick is better than "spartan kick" for doors because you're less likely to overextend your knee and pull something with a donkey kick
16:00 im a fire academy student and nearing the end of the class. I found this critique interesting cause at least in our class, we are taught to wrap the hose around the hydrant, then step on it. We stand on it loosely, and position ourselves so that in case it does get caught and flies off, it doesn't break our ankle. Obviously different jurisdictions have different procedures, just found that interesting. Who knows, maybe I'll be re-taught when I actually start working.
He is right car fires are wayyy worse i think they go by category and category 4 means when metal is on fire and water doesnt help at all so i guess thats when the foam comes in
As a firefighter, I've never heard of categories for it but All in all they're not terrible. Typically it doesn't take much water to put them put unless you have odd circumstances like the one the FDNY dude was referring to. Magnesium engines suck a lot though because it throws metal at you as you cool it and you have to use class D extinguisher to put it all the way out or just let it burn and cool the surroundings. Any water will make it far worse than it is.
Any fire where firefighters were inside a structure and not wearing an airpack and on air would’ve gotten a 0 from me. Surprised he didn’t bring it up.
My only complaint is his comment for "towering inferno" about the chemicals "completely ridiculous" Regulations or not there are tons of places that don't follow regs. storing chemicals flammable and the like doesn't always happen properly, course if OSHA or other companies like WCB here in BC Canada see it or find out, they will fine the daylights out of you but open like that does happen.
Emergency is the reason I became a firefighter. I have enjoyed my career as firefighter. I watch the movies and the tv shows, and I say bullshit!! Hollywood!!
Emergency was so great. They actually sent the actors for the medics to paramedic school, then they would create a scenario and just let them go to work.
Or Station 19 because for some reason the writers seem to think staying above a fire line inside a high rise is safe and that said fire can jump floors by exploding outward then goes upwards and make an explosion on its way back in 😂
I paused the video at 18:37 and ran downstairs to make sure my circuit breaker door was closed securely. (It wasn’t 😬.) The latch has been tough to open so I had been keeping the door closed loosely. Not anymore! Thank you FF Martinez!!!
They call their drivers Chauffeurs?!?! We just call our drivers "driver," "DPOP" or maybe "DLOP," but that's pretty rare. And we just have the second in Ladder pack get the utilities, as they run their positions from the rear of the dwelling. Also, we do the elevators in high rises different. Had to stop watching around the 8:30 mark,, but I'm interested in coming back to check out the rest.
My only problem with this guy is that he said "as a probationary firefighter, that's the only time you make mistakes". That screams complacency, and there are LOTS of dead firefighters that were not probationary, that died because they made a mistake. There are also a lot more experienced, non-probationary firefighters that have made a mistake and either gotten away with it, or had a near miss. Everyone makes mistakes. If you think you're too good to make mistakes, you are a hazard to you and everyone working with/around you, and you should not be doing the job you're doing.
I kind of mad you included Chief Boden's line in that Chicago Fire episode. "Can someone tell me why the Truck Lieutenant is venting the roof?" Also, during the Backdraft clip, 9:00 why is his Turnout Coat WIDE OPEN.
I’m a firefighter too. The closing your eyes part seems like it’s an automatic thing. I’m a rookie still but the house fires I’ve been in I couldn’t see and I found myself closing my eyes 🤷♂️ flashlights do not work the smoke reflects it back in your face
ladder 49 the reverse lay is acurate besides the stepping on the hose, yes you would qrap it around the hydrant until the truck stops or you can no longer see the truck and you know its safe. another thing is, the way he sent the truck off is ABSOLUTLY CORRECT and yes, there is a way to put out the fire, most of the times we aim toward the fire, but sometimes we don't. great job
VERY disappointed that they didn't show him the clip (in Backdraft) of Kurt Russell rescuing the child, where there's not a smudge of soot on either one of them and his coat is open and there's no SCBA. That 5 or 6 second section of the movie was probably one of the worst I've ever seen, so bad that I remember it many many years from when I saw it. Everyone in my fire company laughed their a$$es off when we saw it.
in vienna we are getting rid of AFFF because of the potential environmental damage and because there are other chemicals with the same effect and are a lot of cheaper but close to no sideeffects
I actually would have loved to see him react to the story of “Mose the Fireman” from the Rabbit Ears video series. It basically animated a children’s book about a tall tale regarding a fireman hero.
I can tell you from personal experience from living on the 15th floor in college, that whenever we had fire drills---10pm, 12am, 4am, didn't matter, they made sure and disabled the elevators so even if you thought you could cheat it, nope, they made you not only run down 15 flights of stairs, but go back up. It makes sense, and trust me, I get it, but having to wake up out of good sleep at 4am to then go down and then back up 15 flights was a pain in the butt and they made sure, being on the higher floors, that we have 3x as many fire drills. FUN TIMES!
Funny, during the golden week I was visiting my mom, and it so happened that the local volunteer fire fighters had an open day, you could see all the equipment and enter the small fire fighting museum for free, the exposition wasn't too big but interesting
I wish they had a clip from Third Watch since like half the firefighter cast on the show were active duty FDNY who worked as the technical advisors for the show.
Why didn't he mention anything about the fact that the guys just bail in the burning structure with absolutely no respritory protection. The cap is famous for yelling to remember respritory protection multiple times on the way to a fire,
@bobbyologun1517 I mean they could make an incredibly realistic one with a low budget because when you're in a real fire you just see black amd sometimes a little glow🤣 I don't think that'd do well in the box office😂
I don't know if it's likely that it would happen in that particular situation, but it absolutely has happened, and a lot more often than you probably think. It isn't a common event, but firefighters running out of water is not really rare either.
Nice video. The only thing is his disbelief of the (lack of) safety conditions shown at the Towering Inferno. Probably, he's too young. A more veteran firefighter (or their own historians, if such thing exist at fire brigades) could be of more use on telling about how -disastrous- safety issues were back in the 70s.
He did say he was only a 9 year veteran. He wasn't bad but would have preferred a fire captain or Marshall because they normally have decades of experience.
Well... to be fair... that young man came up LONG after NYC established tight building codes and fire regulations... so to him, the idea of a bunch of flammable crap stuffed in a room with electrical gear, is a totally foreign concept. We still see pathetic safety conditions from time to time, particularly outside of urbanized areas. Even in areas with proper building and safety codes, the fact of the matter is... humans can get a bit complacent and start to slack up obeying those codes. In my career, I've seen electrical boxes that were veritable RAT'S NESTS of wires twisted and tangled 1000-ways-from-Christmas, and flammable storage that was just plain scary. I've lost count of the places I've responded to, where exits were blocked up with all manner of crap. It comes with the territory. You never know what you're going to find at the other end of the call... even stuff that you're not supposed to find, gets found. Welcome to the fire service.
@@xokayb7l2 terminology has likely changed since you've been retired. and, his temperament? all sorts of people work in all sorts of jobs -- you don't know him. don't be ridiculous
I’m a air port fire fighter and I would avoid afff at any means necessary lmao but this man is smart ( my station don’t use afff anymore because it’s so dangerous) we use a protein base foam now for planes
Like he mentioned, its not the fuel burning its the vapour that's travelling just above ground level that ignites due to fuel oxygen mix ratio that's why we use a lot of foam to smoother and cool the burning vapours, a water extinguisher is of no use on vapour fires because its separates the burning fuel mix spreading it around - smother and cool is the only way to kill the fire
4:24 "You`d be surprised how easy it is to get through most of these structures" - Ehmm since this is the US, nope not surprised at all, pretty much how I imagine paper to react when force is used.
LOL. You called your driver engineer a chauffeur? Yours must be a real fancy pants to earn that nickname. Definitely missed an opportunity here to get Fire Department Coffee and Jason/Fenton on set.
I have to ask, because it was referenced so many times- or rather, wasn’t! What does an *inactive* fire look like? Or is that another way to describe a fire now under control, or the circumstances eg. fuel & oxygen, or 2 of 3 of the fire 🔺?
