FILM EXPLORES THE REALITY OF FIREFIGHTERS' LIVES.Byline: SUSAN ABRAM Staff Writer They charge into fire, hoping always to come back. Not as heroes, but as husbands and wives, as mothers and fathers. To make mortgage and car payments and to do laundry. ``There are a lot of people who don't understand why we do it, that we are just human,'' said Bryan Howard, a 42-year-old Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), also known as the Los Angeles City Fire Department to distinguish it from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles. paramedic par·a·med·ic n. A person who is trained to give emergency medical treatment or assist medical professionals. paramedic who is featured among a dozen other firefighters in a film called ``Into the Fire,'' airing tonight on the History Channel. Inspired by Steve Dohlson's book ``The Fire Inside,'' Oscar winning filmmaker Bill Couturie said his documentary explores firefighters in an opposite light from blockbuster block·bust·er n. 1. Something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales. 2. A high-explosive bomb used for demolition purposes. 3. films such as ``Backdraft'' and ``Ladder 49.'' Those movies depicted de·pict tr.v. de·pict·ed, de·pict·ing, de·picts 1. To represent in a picture or sculpture. 2. To represent in words; describe. See Synonyms at represent. firefighters as men of steel. Couturie's goal was to humanize hu·man·ize tr.v. hu·man·ized, hu·man·iz·ing, hu·man·iz·es 1. To portray or endow with human characteristics or attributes; make human: humanized the puppets with great skill. 2. them. ``After 9-11, I felt there was a tendency to make firefighters into cardboard Cardboard is a generic non-specific term for a heavy duty paper based product. Paperboard
Paperboard is a paper based material. It is often used for folding cartons, set-up boxes, carded packaging, etc. heroes,'' Couturie said. ``Obviously they are flesh and blood. They laugh and cry and show emotion. They are people and I wanted to show them as such.'' There also were personal reasons for making the film. A resident of Ojai, Couturie has come face to face with brush fires encroaching on his home. ``I've lived in this area for 15 years, and the firefighters have saved my house at least a dozen times,'' he said. ``I have a personal love of firefighters.'' From fire stations across America, Couturie met men and women who wanted to share their stories, including Howard, a paramedic who works out of Fire Station No. 78 in Studio City. The Taft High School graduate once dreamed of being a professional athlete, but was inspired by a friend's father to become a firefighter. Glendale fire Capt. Niall Foley fo·ley n. 1. A technical process by which sounds are created or altered for use in a film, video, or other electronically produced work. 2. A person who creates or alters sounds using this process. , who grew up in Sylmar, also is featured in the film. He talks about his first fire call, and how his youth and inexperience Inexperience See also Innocence, Naïveté. Bowes, Major Edward (1874–1946) originator and master of ceremonies of the Amateur Hour on radio. [Am. almost cost him his life. But it's the untold stories of firefighter families that Foley hopes will come through. ``They are the real heroes,'' Foley said. ``I get to go to work and do what I love to do. The families are the ones watching the news. They are the ones who do the worrying.'' susan.abram(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3664 IF YOU WATCH ``Into the Fire'' airs at 8 p.m. tonight and at 4 p.m. Oct. 22 on the History Channel. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2) Above, Bryan Howard, a Los Angeles Fire Department paramedic, and Glendale Fire Capt. Niall Foley, below, are featured in a film called ``Into the Fire.'' Box: IF YOU WATCH (see text) |
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