I haven't done a firefighting blog entry in a while, so here's a good excuse. FX Network rolled out its new show "Rescue Me" last night. Here its cable channel 62, and I almost didn't hear about it. Like any firefighter show right now, the first episode had a really heavy emphasis on leftover issues from Sept. 11th. Most of the firefighters I know are pretty conflicted about this -- they're really tired of hearing about it, but at the same time would be insulted if you suggested that to them. I wasn't yet a firefighter at that time, but became involved in my "On Call" department in the months after and have watched that play out with a few conflicted thoughts of my own. The related issues touched on in the show were real -- at least in the way they reflect my own limited knowledge and those few FDNY firefighters I've met since -- but I really hope FX will move forward with a much lower emphasis on it. A high point of the show, to me, was Leary's dialog to a shrink about the things that haunted him from BEFORE then, that were just as real. At least there, and in a couple of other places, the show did a pretty good job at showing that before and after Sept. 11, the job of a firefighter can be a frightening one before the fire, during the fire, and after the fire.

A full time firefighter in a major city (which I am not, by any means) is going to see those situations more in a year than most of the rest of us will in a lifetime. Still, as a firefighter you spend a very large amount of time thinking and planning for everything that can go really really wrong. What do we do if -- right now -- a train overturns near the school and its got a tanker car with unknown chemicals leaking out? You can't focus on that kind of thing every day and not be impacted by it. Over time, I've come to think very differently in nearly all situations. I couldn't put a handle on it until recently while working with Captain Copp at a town meeting being held in the high school gym. Clay said something like "If we do get an alarm sounding, we'll protect in place there while checking it out." -- That statement doesn't carry any hidden meanings, its just a tactical thing -- an alarm could mean something or not, and with all those people to evacuate, the best immediate place for them is in a solid single story structure with non combustible construction, a high ceiling, and lots of exit doors. The import thing that I realized was that to him, and over time I can see myself getting there, those weren't just people in a room. Those were HIS people to protect even if they never realized it and even if they weren't in any danger at that time. Its like being a parent in a way. Not a moment of a day goes by when you don't know where your kids are -- even if they're away from you. You know who they're with, what they're supposed to be doing, and what plans are in place to protect them (well, mine aren't teenagers yet).

So, the touchy feely part over with, what about the fires? FX did as good a job as I've seen in one particular case -- the primary search of the room where the fire actually is. There are things they can't do quite right on TV -- it was still way too easy to see what was going on in comparison to the real thing -- but they did a reasonably good job at showing the situation. I've been that new guy trying to just keep his own crap together and get through the room without getting lost, and definitely could relate. I can't say I've ever achieved the level of calm portrayed by most T.V. firefighters but I'm happy to say I don't live in quite that same "probie" place any more either.

It was probably a little confusing to watch. After all, why was the guy "lost"? I think they just made the visibility better for the camera but played the role more accurately as if it were entirely dark. In reality if you're searching near a working fire you probably have one hand on the guy ahead of you -- his boot or pants leg or something -- to keep track of where he is. In turn, the next guy is trying to keep track of you. In that scene, the probie didn't have his gear on right and in trying to deal with that and also not loose his hand tool had lost contact with the guy ahead. Also like real life, the experienced guy ahead knew he had a probie with him and went back to check. In my first search drill, at night in a boarded up house (with no smoke or fire) I was leading and the person with me didn't have hold of my leg. One of the guys leading the drill quietly went up to the person following me and led them away to see how long it would take me to notice.

The last thing to touch on is the overall tone of the show. Its not a hard drama like 3rd Watch or NYPD Blue. Instead, its a sort of comedy drama. I think FX is taking a risk with that, but its a smart one. The firefighters I know are the funniest people I've ever met. Every one of them is a character in one way or another. Firefighters are (in general) loud, crude, rough, and quick with a joke -- the men too. Doing a show about firefighters without comedy would be almost as bad as doing it without fires.

FX is a cable channel, and as such re-ran the show three times -- once for each market's 10pm time slot. I suspect they'll repeat it through the week if you want to catch the premier. I have it on tape and may digitize that search scene. Go watch, and tell me what you think.