HOOK-AND-LADDER HEROES : `L.A. FIREFIGHTERS' LICK FLAMES, PERILS IN NEW FOX SERIES.

Byline: Bob Thomas Associated Press 

Flames reach from the floor to the ceiling of the paint store, and cans begin to explode in the intense heat.

``Everybody out! Now!'' the leader yells, and four firefighters in protective gear race toward the exit as the flames begin to engulf the room.

``Cut!'' the director commands over the loudspeaker, and the flames obey, flickering down as a gas supply is shut off. All that is left is a blackened movie set and the odor of acrid smoke. Fortunately, everyone is breathing through masks.

A portion of an unused hangar at the Van Nuys Airport is the site for indoor shooting of ``L.A. Firefighters,'' a new Fox network series that debuts today. The outdoor scenes are filmed all over Los Angeles County.

The one-hour action series is the creation of Gordon Greisman; the leading actors are Carlton Wilborn, Alexandra Hedison, Christine Elise, Jarrod Emick, Brian Leckner and Michael Gallagher.

As crew members prepare for the next shot, the actors lounge in other parts of the hangar, gulping from bottles of water that are constant companions between scenes. Lounge may not be the right word, considering the actors' cumbersome costumes, with oxygen tanks on their backs.

``I'd estimate I have about 50, maybe 60 pounds of gear on,'' explains Emick, who won a Tony Award as Joe Hardy in ``Damn Yankees'' on Broadway. ``It's all insulated, so you're very warm. Then when you take it off, you're very cold, so you gotta worry about catching pneumonia.

``So I just keep it on and sweat it out. Day before yesterday, I lost seven pounds.''

Emick believes the time is ripe for a firefighter series, reasoning, ``It's about the last of the hero occupations; everyone has a smile when the firefighters go by.''

``I thought I was in good shape, but this show is whoopin' my butt,'' adds Elise, who played Emily Valentine in ``Beverly Hills, 90210'' and Noah Wyle's love interest on ``ER.'' Still, the 125-pounder seems undaunted by the 55 pounds of gear she bears.

Before the series started production, Elise accompanied L.A. County fire trucks as they answered alarms. She talked to women firefighters about their problems.

``It's the same as when women were allowed in the military,'' she says. ``Of course there was opposition and talk behind their backs. But ultimately you're counting on these people to save your life.''

In an abandoned building near the hangar, Greisman operates in makeshift production offices. He dreamed up the series, writes it and serves as executive producer.

``One of the things that really interested me about this franchise was that its culture was really different from cops,'' he said. ``Through various shows, I've spent a lot of time around cops. They're great, but they see the seamier side of life. Because of that, their attitudes about people and their own lives are affected.

``Firemen are sort of urban heroes; they risk their lives to save lives, not to arrest criminals and hit people with sticks. There is not that cynicism and world-weariness that cops have. For me that was interesting from a storytelling standpoint.

``It allows you to deal in a real way with people who do something heroic, and yet it is a mundane part of their lives. . . . The other thing that attracted me is that fire, which is violent, is also morally neutral. It's just destructive. It's an interesting kind of villainy.''

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PHOTO Actors Jarrod Emick, left, and Christine Elise battle a blaze while filming an episode of ``L.A. Firefighters'' in a hangar at Van Nuys Airport.

Associated Press