Saturday, December 19, 2015

New Podcasts and More

Hi all - Hope you're enjoying your day. Seems Winter is making its way in and the holidays are almost upon us. First, we want all of you who follow us here, on Twitter with either @DalmatProd or @CAUSE_ORIGIN, how much we appreciate your follows and your support. As we've said before, TV is a very, very tough business! However, your faith and support buoy us up and helps us to continue to work as hard as we can to bring this TV show, all about you, to the viewing public. And for that, we are deeply grateful to every one of you.

On to the new Podcast - We are hoping to launch the first podcast after the first of the year. Our goal is to present you with a great mix of important information, some excellent education and a little bit of fun, all thrown together (much like in the firehouse!)

Our podcasts will be prerecorded and archived. That way, you'll be able to listen to it at your leisure. As you may realize, there are hundreds of topics we can discuss.  We are planning to produce two shows per month. However, since the purpose of this show is for YOU, we want to give you the opportunity to let us know what topics you would like to hear discussed.

While we do have our own experience in fire/rescue, I've been out of active-duty for quite a while. So my sole role on this show is to be your host. And with that in mind, we have already lined up three excellent members to be our first guests. And we're looking for plenty more.

Along that line, here is a list of some of the topics that we hope to address on the show (in no special order):
  1. Firefighter Health Initiative 2015 - 2016
  2. Job Stress and its tolls on our lives
  3. Job attraction and retention
  4. Educating the public we protect and the public officials we deal with 
  5. Healthy Eating and Firehouse Recipes!
  6. Command & Control
  7. The purpose and need for the PIO
  8. Fireground tactics: Size-up, Analysis, Plan & Execute or Surround & Drown
  9. The importance of proper record-keeping
  10. The benefits of a well-trained fire department
  11. Employing and promoting personnel
  12. Budget develop and management
  13. The role of discipline in strengthening personnel
  14. Identifying and addressing fire department staffing issues
  15. Automatic aid and mutual-aid versus adding more personnel
  16. Capital equipment planning: identifying needs and resolving them
  17. Why do some firefighters fail to wear (or properly wear) their PPE?
  18. Preparing to compete for a chief's position
And that's just for starters! Because this is your show, we would like to hear from you about topics that you would like to hear addressed. Additionally, if you're comfortable being a teacher, presenter, etc., we're officially inviting you to contact us and let us know that you'd like to be a guess. Thanks to today's wonderful electronics and the Internet, you won't have to travel to South Florida to be on the show. We'll use cellphone, Skype and/or Face Time to connect with you. So, if you're interest, please leave a comment here, send us a Twitter Private Message to either @DalmatProd or @CAUSE_ORIGIN, or send us an email to steve@dalmatianproductions.tv. If you'd like to be a guest, please include a brief bio and the topic you'd like to present.

Finally, unless there's big news from L.A. this week, we will probably save our next post until after next weekend. With that in mind, from Rich, Tom, Jesse and me (Steve) we extend our best wishes to all of you and yours for very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Safe Christmas and Kwanza holidays. Let's use this season to take one more step, reach out a little further, and touch someone's life who needs us, but is afraid or embarrassed to ask for it. Just like laying a tile floor, we build it one piece at a time. It can be a slow, tiring job. But when it's finished, it's beautiful. Let's do the same thing in our lives. 

May the Good Lord bless and protect each and every one of you and yours.

Steve Greene, President
Dalmatian Productions, Inc.
Cause and Origin Productions, LLC

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Post-Thanksgiving Update

First - We hope that all of you enjoyed a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday with whomever you were with for the day. We know that our families did. However, the joy and happiness of the holiday weekend were marred by the tragic shooting in Colorado Springs yesterday, with the deaths of UCCS Police Officer Garrett Swasey and two additional citizens, as well as the wounding of several other officers and civilians. We pray for those lost and hope for swift and full recoveries

Whether it's here in the U.S. or far abroad, we cannot let ourselves become immune to violence such as this. If we do, we will lose our sense of humanity and will devolve into a lawless and chaotic void, where hope is only a chance and the deaths of all of these innocent people will be in vain. And we cannot let that happen.

On a happier note, our Los Angeles-based partner sent us some excellent news on Wednesday evening, even apologizing to us for not saving until what we call, "Good News Thursdays." It seems that a producer friend of his with whom he had worked on a major Fox program was in touch to refer him to another producer who asked for our partner by name, for a new project.

As it turns out, this producer who asked for him, is a partner in a new "venture" production company. "Venture" production? Most of us have heard of "venture capital," right? Well, one of the aims of this new production company is to open the doors to new writers and producers, those with little and/or no experience, to see what they (sic. "we") can offer. They feel that many good writers with excellent film and program ideas are shut-out of the process because they don't have any connections in the business. In plain English, that's "us!" Luckily, that had a quick chat and he has a meeting set up with her in a week or so.  

On top of that, last week I spoke with a long-time friend who is a major music composer in L.A. for film and television. We've known each other for over thirty years. I reached out to him to see if he might be interested in helping us with the project. After catching up since our last chat over a year ago, he jumped in with both feet, as they say. However, beyond helping us out with the music for the show, he also has two very involved production-industry friends and asked our permission to allow him to present the show info to them! Now that's what you call a friend!

JUST HOLD YOU'RE HORSES! Those of you who read this blog on a regular or semi-regular basis, may know that this time of the year is the worst time to talk with people in the entertainment industry/ Basically, most of them close down from the beginning of November through the beginning of January. But listen, we've waited this long...another couple of months won't kill us.

Finally, back on the positive side, it looks like we have finally found a good configuration to record our podcast in our home studio. I've found and squashed most of the nasty little electronic "bugs" that appear when you connect different computers to mixers, mics and headphones. We'll do a little more experimenting this week to tweak all of our connections. So, keep an eye out on our Twitter accounts, @DalmatProd and @Cause_Origin for the announcement of our first podcast. And, we have two great guests who have agreed to "appear."

Remember, this good news from L.A. doesn't guaranty anything. Thus, we still have to work and prepare for shooting the pilot ourselves. And for that, we need your help. If you haven't already and you want to demonstrate that you like the idea of our new TV show, "CAUSE & ORIGIN," please send us a Facebook Message or Twitter Direct Message or an email to info@dalmatianproductions.tv, wit the word, "YES!" If you already have, please pass the word on to all your followers!!! We need those numbers!

Stay Safe and Remember  - EVERY ONE GOES HOME!
 

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Welcome and Thank You!

Just a quick note to all the new followers from Twitter who are visiting our blog for the first time. First, thank you very much for taking the step and supporting our work to produce our new television program, "CAUSE & ORIGIN." Each one of you means a great to us.
It is your support that will allow us to take the next steps to launch the show.

Good news happened to arrive last night, as well. I heard from a good friend in Los Angeles, who has agreed to work on composing the music for the show, that he is bringing the info on the show to two very successful television people in L.A. that are good friends. Does that make it a sure thing? Naw...that's not going to happen. If and when it does, it will be with an exchange of ideas, plans and co-development. 

We want to ask one more small favor. When you visit here, please sign up as a "follower" of this blog. And always feel free to leave a comment any time you read a post. You don't have to agree with everything we discuss and we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas, too!

Again, you have our sincere appreciation. We wish you all a very happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

Steve Greene, President

Friday, November 13, 2015

YES!! We're Asking For Your Help --- NOT Your Money!

It's as simple as this: we must be prepared to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money so that we can produce the pilot episode of our new fire-service drama, "CAUSE & ORIGIN." However, before we can launch that campaign, our advisers highly recommended that we query our friends/followers on social media to see if we have the "muscle" to run a successful campaign.

So here's the deal: You should be able to find all the information you may want about the show, right here on this blog. However, if you feel you need more info about the show, drop us an email at info@dalmatianproductions.tv and we'll send out a copy of the synopsis to you to peruse. 

If at that point, you'd like to let us know you might be willing to help us should we have the need for the crowdfunding campaign, please send us an email at info@dalmatianproductions.tv and please put the word, "YES" in the subject line. That will give us your message and add you to our list of interested supporters. Don't forget - you can follow us on Twitter at either @DalmatProd or @Cause_Origin and know all about the progress of the show.

Finally, please don't keep it to yourself. If you're a firefighter, EMT/Paramedic, LEO, or any other profession, please share the news with your friends and family. And ask them to send their  email to us, as well. That will keep those numbers of interested parties climbing!

Thank you so much for your friendship, loyalty and support.

Stay Safe & Remember - Every One Goes Home!

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

If You Missed the Periscope Broadcast...

"So," you're asking yourself, "What was do important about the Periscope broadcast?"

Funny, you should ask. Here's the quick lowdown:

As you know, we've been working diligently on social media to get the word out about who we are (Dalmatian Productions, Inc - made up of four gentlemen all of whom with experience in emergency services), what we're trying to do (launch a fire service-themed dramatic series for television or streaming service) and most likely, we will need to launch a major crowdfunding campaign (to raise the money necessary to be able to shoot the pilot episode).

Our strongest push has been on Twitter with our two handles, @DalmatProd, which has been on for a couple of years, and more recently added, @Cause_Origin. We created the split so that the new one, for the most part, would be the one for us to use to keep everyone posted about the development and progress of the show. While @DalmatProd is involved in many discussions on the many issues that face the fire-service industry today. And we didn't want to have to give that up. 

Thus today, we asked a simple question: "Will You Help Us Bring "Cause & Origin" to TV?
NO....AT THIS MOMENT WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR MONEY!!!
What we are asking is, "If and when we launch a crowdfunding campaign, would you be willing to participate and make a donation?"

That's it. It's that simple. So, if you would like to let us know that you would be interested, please send us an email to info@dalmatianproductions.tv and let us know. Just a quick, painless, email. 

As an example, when the people behind the TV show, "Veronica Mars," wanted to make a feature film to tie up all the loose ends left when the series was axed, they ran a crowdfunding campaign and in just 10 1/2 hours, they raised over 2 million dollars!!!! Not bad, eh?

Again, if you would be interested, if and when, we launch a campaign, please send an email to our link above and say, "Yes!"

Thanks! Stay Safe and remember, Every One Goes Home!

VERY IMPORTANT "PERISCOPE" BROADCAST - WEDNESDAY 11 NOV 2015!

Please note: We will have a very important Periscope broadcast today, Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 2:00PM EST. 

After the Periscope broadcast, we will be sending out a tweet to all our followers on both of our Twitter ID's, @DalmatProd and @Cause_Origin.

Once those have been carried out, we will cover the announcement on the next post here on our blog.

In the meantime, Stay Safe and remember, Every One Goes Home!

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Bringing a Balance to Life

Each day, our lives pull us in almost countless directions. Work - Family - Home - Hobbies - Community. This one is urgent!! This one isn't. I have to do this! We have to do that. Did you get this done? Did you get that done? Even if we had the same eight arms as an octopus, we'd still probably need to take the old, proverbial broom stick and shove it where "the sun don't shine," to finish sweeping the floor!

We are finding this out almost each day in trying to produce our show, "Cause & Origin." This has to be researched...that has to be sent out. "You have to call this person before noon,"...and don't forget to email that person. 

Yet, there is one, very time-consuming part of the job for our team that, although it takes a good deal more time than we expected, we really enjoy. And that's chatting with many of you on Twitter. With over 900 followers now between both accounts, there are some great discussions and ideas that we share. Plus, meeting many of you, even if only via Twitter, has been a terrific experience and we have learned a great deal.

Yet, even on Twitter, balance is needed, we found. When we decided to really develop a presence, we figured that the fastest way to "grow" our account would be to follow as many people who shared the concept of the fire-service. It didn't take too long before we had grown our Following list to several hundred and our Followers list to a couple of dozen. Out of balance? Definitely. 

We kept growing that way, off-balance, until we hit out first 2,000 BLOCK!!! That's right, we had a couple of hundred following us, but we had already racked up nearly 2,000 that we were following. When that happened, we learned how to strip down the numbers a bit here and there and try to balance ourselves. We've been doing a decent job of it with only a few bumps along the way.

However, with over 900, we had to make a difficult decision and that was to create a better balance to our account. We made attempts to invite as many of those that we were following to follow us. We met with some success, but not a great deal. As you know, we're now seeking your assistance to help us grow our followers, we had to decide to "trim the fat," so to speak. 

Thus, as we encounter tweets from Twitter folks who have not returned the favor, we have had to unfollow them. And it's a shame that we have to do this. We'd love to be able to keep every single one, but as we wrote in an earlier post, "Communication is a two-way street."

Remember though, we'd be very, very happy to welcome as many more followers as want to join us and help us get this show on the air. We are getting closer to our next level of production work and will keep you all advised of the progress. 

As always, thank you for your interest, loyalty and friendship. Don't forget - We're doing this for you!

Stay Safe & Every One Goes Home!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

New Technology - New Followers - Good News!

Welcome -

Right from the top, we want to welcome all the new Followers on Twitter, who have joined us at both of our ID's, @DalmatProd and @Cause_Origin. The numbers are climbing, but relatively slowly. But that's OK, most accounts that look for "overnight" 10,000 followers are all too often, disappointed. As long as we have steady growth, we will always keep our spirits up. 

Now that does not mean that we no longer need your help. We do! We still ask for your help, simply by telling your followers about us and about our show, "Cause & Origin." Then, ask them to tell their followers and if we keep this growing, we will reach the levels that we will need. And all of that will be thanks to you!

Additionally, we have created an Instagram account and made our first post there under our name, Dalmatian Productions. We'll start posting there on a regular basis very soon. So if you're an Instagram member, give us a look. 

Right now, all our plans are moving ahead. We taking all the steps in a specific order that will take us to our next level. Please remember, we are relatively new to this. Thus, there is a learning curve for all of us. But we are proceeding. 

Please - Continue to support us simply by referring your followers to us! It's an immense help for us!

Remember - Stay Safe!!! And Every One Goes Home! 

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Communications is a Two-Way "Street"

@DalmatProd: "Hi. You guys did a helluva job getting that kid out of the pipe. Poor little guy! We can really appreciate those efforts."

           @123FireDept: "Thanks and thanks for the RT, Fav and Follow.

@DalmatProd: "Our pleasure. Please have a look at our blog at bit.ly/DalmatProd see what we're doing and how YOU can help us. And it doesn't cost a cent! Hopefully, you'll return the favor and Follow us as well. #StaySafe"

          @123FireDept: "OK, thanks."

And that is the last time we heard from that fire department. Of course, that Twitter conversation above is imaginary (and way more than 140 characters!). Nevertheless, this is a common experience and one that we've experienced many, many times.

Although we started the account in 2011, we didn't really get going with it on a daily basis until just about a year ago. When we started, we used the "Search" feature to find ID's related to keywords such as "Fire," "Fire Department," "Firefighters," "EMS," "Paramedics," etc. That got us started raking in the ones we "followed." Now, add in Twitter's "Recommendation" service, "You May Also Like to Follow," and lists of three ID's closest to my keywords and the ID's we've just followed. In no time at all, we had 30+ followers and we were following over 600! Using this same system, it did not take long for us to hit that Twitter's magic 2,001-Followed. That meant, until we convince a lot more folks to follow us, we we were not allowed to follow anyone else. Boy, that sucks! Big time.

Eventually, thanks to many of you who are reading this, we built up our "Followed By" numbers and as of yesterday, October 30, 2015, we have over 800 followers. Sounds great, right? WRONG! It sucks! Big time.

While we understood from the "get-go" that our tweets, especially from the point that we began to share conversations regarding firefighting issues, that we would most likely not appeal to "civilians," our belief, as naive as it was, was that once firefighters, fire/rescue departments, paramedics, EMT's, etc. saw that we were working on a new, dramatic TV series about the fire service and that we, the partners of the company, were all either current or past firefighters and first responders, that they would "Follow" us by the thousands! OK, well, by the 100's!! How about, "dozens?" Not that one either? How about, "here and there?" And that's the way it been ever since. 

As we became more familiar with Twitter and its nooks and crannies, we looked at a great many other ID's.  Additionally, we found that by clicking on "FOLLOWERS" on our ID page, we could see each and every Follower of ours. That too was eye opening. Why? Because we found people who issued their first tweet of a dozen just 10 days ago, having 20.8K Followers! People who quote sayings from the "Farmers Almanac," with 32.4K followers! Moreover, some of those who are following us, including individuals, departments, agencies, union locals and professional groupings, have thousands of followers as well. So, here we are, trying to target over 1.2 million firefighters (no, not each one individually!), paramedics, EMT, etc., and we're lucky to have earned the 800 that we currently have.

Last week, we sent out a tweet to our followers, asking very politely, that for those who have a minimum of 1,000 followers, if they would be kind enough to send out 1 tweet to them, suggesting they follow @DalmatProd and/or check out our blog, then follow us. We kept our fingers crossed and waited. And waited. And waited. Guess what! We're still waiting.

Are we angry, upset? Nope, not a bit! Are we disappointed? Kind of. Why? Because all the work we're doing is for you. YOU, not us! And the funny part is, we're not asking for money; any money! Not a red cent! Unless....Twitter has a secret charge that we don't know about, for referrals, suggestions, etc.

Why is increasing the number of our followers so vital; so important? Simple. At some point, if we decide to engage in a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money to shoot the pilot episode, our adviser informed us that 800-1000 followers on Twitter was nowhere near the number of followers that need to express an interest in the project, so that we will have at least a chance of success with the campaign.

So, if you are one of our followers and no matter how many followers you have, would you please Tweet your followers and suggest that they take a look at us? We have shared both the synopsis, as well as a copy of the original script with some of you, asking for your personal feedback, based on your experience and reputation in the fire service. And while almost everyone of you wrote back how much you enjoyed the story and wished us good luck, we can count on just a couple of fingers the number of you who indeed did share our handle and/or blog, to your followers. 

In closing, one of the first and most important adages we learned when we first joined up was, "I got your back," whether you're behind the nozzle-jockey, caring for the surviving family of a LODD, or almost anything that is a part of our life in firefighting. We hope we can count on you to have our backs! Let's make communication a two-way street. Please.

Till next time,
Stay Safe & Every One Goes Home

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

We Are Here to Serve You - Which Would YOU Prefer?

10/27/2015 - Good morning gang. Just a quick note. A number of followers on Twitter and Facebook have suggest we create either a weekly podcast or a YouTube channel. The purpose would be simply to discuss (with more than 140 characters + more time) many of the same key issues we all chat about on Twitter. These topics include, LODD's, Fire-Fighter Health Initiative 2015; tactics, strains on ourselves, our families, PTSD, etc.

Either way requires a significant time commitment. I know. Back in 2001-2004, I was invited to join the then, PIO for Boca Raton Fire-Rescue, Frank Correggio, on his live radio show, "Burning Issues," every Sunday evening from 5:00PM - 7:00 PM ET. We had a blast, with listeners around the world and interesting and well-know guest speakers either calling in or sitting with us in our studio. Each show was archived so that listeners could listen to it later if they missed the live broadcast. YES! We were doing this long before the word, "podcast" was even thought.

So, if you would like us to provide some sort of forum on one of these media, please let us know. Just leave a comment here and let us know what you would like and would listen to.
And please. subscribe to this blog. It means a great deal to us.

Stay Safe - Every One Goes Home

Steve Greene
Dalmatian Productions, Inc.

Friday, October 23, 2015

That's News to Us!

Another quick post tonight. We had a very informative and positive conference call on Wednesday evening, between our partners and two reps from the crowdfunding platform that we are seriously considering. They provided both clearer and stronger information that will play a major part in our final decision.

There was one very important point that they brought up and we weren't aware of. And that is before we can even begin our campaign for money, we need to very seriously and strongly increase the number of our followers! Now, if we were just throwing a few "rescue videos" on YouTube, we'd be fine. But we're not. We are looking to finance and produce a professional and dynamic pilot episode of our show, "Cause & Origin," and that will take a major increase of followers and, at the right time, a lot of money.

Listen, we're currently closing in on 800 Twitter followers. According to our advisers, we will need to increase that number into the tens, if not hundreds of thousands! How can we do that?

Here it is in plain language: There are an estimated 1.2 million firefighters throughout the U.S.; career, volunteer, and paid on-call. There's no way we'll reach all of them, but think of it this way. When the time comes for the money, if every one of them donated $1.00, we'd be perfectly set to shoot the pilot. But that is not going to happen!

Again, we desperately need your help. Please reach out to each and every firefighter/rescue friend you have. Reach out to your spouses and significant others. Reach out to your broader family. If you're a member of the IAFF, please contact your local and regional members. Letter HQ in Washington and Ottawa know that you'd like to support our efforts. 

How do we define, "support?" We are not asking you for a single penny, right now; not a dime! All we're asking for is to help grow our numbers so that when it is time to launch the financial side of the campaign, we'll have thousands of people to share our message with. 

So many have come forward already to help in any way possible. And we are sincerely appreciative of your support, loyalty and encouragement. Now, please tell everyone else you know. They don't have to be involved in the fire service. They just need to enjoy quality television with great writing and compelling characters!

THANK YOU! Stay Safe  - Every One Goes Home!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Progress in Small Steps!

Good evening, friend. Just a couple of quick notes for you.

We've reserved our new domain, www.causeandorigin.tv 
We haven't set up the site yet, but we're tossing the ideas around!

Some of you have seen that we've created a new ID on Twitter: @cause_origin. So, even if you still follow us at @DalmatProd, we ask you to please follow us at our new handle, @cause_origin, as well. THANK YOU!!

This Wednesday evening, we have a big conference call between our partners and the big folks at the crowdfunding platform we've been do our research on. Hopefully, it will be a fruitful meeting and will generate positive results!

That's it for now. As always, we thank you for your following us on Twitter, reading our blog, and most importantly, your friendship. This project of our is all about YOU!!! We want to tell your stories and help educate the public, both our citizens and the politicos who watch the tube, who we are and what we really do.

Remember, #StaySafe and #EveryOneGoesHome! 

Friday, October 16, 2015

It's a Long, Slow Road to TV Prime Time!

Sometimes, it's just damn depressing! It really is. Even though you might think that after working some 20 years to make this dream happen, we'd be used to the lag time, when things just slow to a crawl. Think of it this way, you have a bunch of really good calls in a row. Each one requires the best from every participant and the calls are almost all different. First you have a complex, confined-space rescue, then just a couple of hours later, you have a working fire in that huge building that you always knew was going to beat you down to a pulp. On both sides of those, you have non-stop EMS calls, a few routine, then you have a difficult delivery, a full-arrest, and a poisoning of a child. All this in just one tour.

Now, you go nearly a week with nothing worse than an ingrown toenail, an elderly resident who simply forgot where he parked his car and the proverbial, cat up a tree. 
"What the hell happened to all that action we had just a couple of days ago," you wonder. Those are the responses you live for!

NOW,  you have an idea of what we're going through. Initially, we thought this week was going to be a big one for us. However, those damn circumstances that you never think about or prepare for, or expect, show up. And with that, molasses is moving across the floor faster than our developments!

We started the week with an excellent conference call. Almost all of our company meetings are conducted via conference call as we're spread out around the county with two members in different parts of Florida, one in Wilmington DE and one in Los Angeles. We decided to continue our discussions with one of the major crowdfunding platforms and to secure domain names for the new show. So we can share that the new domain will be CauseandOrigin.tv. We'll be initializing new email addresses and a new Twitter name this coming week.

That stuff was the "fun" part of our meeting. Then came the section where we have to act like grownups and take care of business. There's a new corporation to form, what type is should be, how to capitalize the new corporation, etc., etc. etc. BORING!! But, it does have to be done. And that's done in between all the really important stuff we do in our lives, like work, teach, household errands, yada, yada, yada. See what I mean? Aren't you enthralled?

Now that's not to say that there isn't some good news. As of a few moments ago (1708 HRS EDT) we have 724 Followers on Twitter. It's a great number, a really great number. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near enough! Why? Look at the numbers:
  • There are approximately 1.2 million firefighters in the U.S. (including career, volunteer, combo and on-call)
  • For our crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to shoot the pilot and provide the networks with a great show that they will fight over, we need every one of those firefighters to donate $1.00 each! Right - like that's ever going to happen.
  • So, we need to reach as many fire-rescue personnel, plus other first responders from all "branches," i.e. LEO's, EMS, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. and ask them to contribute whatever they can.
  • On top of that, we need to reach each of the great periodicals that service our industry and convince them to pick up an editorial story about our goal to produce this show.
  • On top of that, we need to reach as many companies and other businesses whose prime customers are those of us in fire-rescue, EMS, law enforcement, and convince them to be promotional sponsors of the show.
And how is all that going to happen? That's the Million Dollar Question! (sorry for the pun!)

Listen, we deeply appreciate everyone of you who have contacted us via Twitter or email and want to support us. However, we do not want to ask you for money yet. What we do desperately need you to do is simple and free: please pass on our information to everyone you know in the "business." If you work for one of the magazines, tell them about us. We'd be happy to talk to them about it. And if you work for one of the companies that service our businesses, let them know about us too! Just provide them with our Twitter handle (@DalmatProd) or our web site, www.dalmatianproductions.tv, and they can email us for more details. We will write, call, talk and even visit any company that would like to work with us to make this dream, this dream of all of us, come true. 

No, it's not easy. Yet, we have all learned that nothing that is worthwhile in life, ever is. But this is something the fire-rescue personnel, all first responders, deserve. A good, accurate television program about the fire service that will show the viewers what our lives are all about. Who we are and what we do.

Any questions? No problem. Just DM us on Twitter or through the web site.

Now, Stay Safe and Remember - Every One Goes Home!

Friday, October 9, 2015

How Much is That Pumper in the Window? Or That Ladder Truck That Bends in the Middle & Has A "Q"?

If you've been following us here or on Twitter (@DalmatProd) you see that we are getting very serious about using using crowdfunding to raise the money necessary to produce and shoot the pilot episode of "CAUSE & ORIGIN." However, besides the individual donations that can be made, there are additional sources we will be looking at. (That's right...in the future tense - we are not looking for any donations at this time!)

If you caught our Periscope broadcast yesterday (under DalmatProd) we mentioned several there. Let me touch on a few:
1. We're sure you have all seen the credits at the end of a TV show or movie where it says, "Promotional Consideration Provided By..." That occurs on two levels; 1. A direct financial contribution, and 2. Product Placement. Most people knew nothing about product placement until two movies made the term quite clear - "2001: A Space Odyssey," which had the airline name of the now defunct, "Pan Am," all over its shuttle and other rocket ships. The second movie that brought this idea to the forefront on movies and television was the favorite, "E.T." In that film, Steven Spielberg found himself with a problem. He had wanted to use "M&M's" as the candy used to tempt the little alien out of the garage. When the Mars company turned him down, he went to a smaller company with anxious to promote a new product. The company was Reese's. The product was Reese's Pieces. Thus, a company is able to advertise its fine products by providing the product at no cost to the production. 

Our fundraising efforts will include product placement, as well. If you/your company have a strong connection to the fire-rescue service, we will be happy to talk and/or meet with you to see how we can use your product in our show, "Cause & Origin." Thus, your product will be seen by millions, many of whom we expect to be first responders. 

To add a little "frosting," to the product placement, we plan on acquiring a Class A RV and drive around the country to visit as many firehouses as we can. So what's the "frosting?" The RV will be encased in a wrap that will show your product or logo. The size of your "wrap" will be determined through the value of your product placement. 

We plan on a somewhat similar program to be carried out as part of our crowdfunding campaign. For every donation in a certain category, we will be sending you a "charm." For example, a $5.00 donation may get you a miniature Halligan tool with the show's name inscribed on it. Contributions in higher numbers bring better "charms," i.e. a donation of $1,000.00 might earn a day on the set with us; a donation of $10,000.00 might have you cast as an extra. Get it? Got it! Good!

This weekend, we are approaching 700 dedicated Followers on Twitter. And part of the reason for that, we believe, is because we are not tweeting just about the show, we tweet about key issues facing first responders today. And we thank God for every single one you. However, we need more of you. When we try to explain to possible investors and we quote the figure of almost 1.2 million firefighters in this country, the number of 700 followers isn't so terrific. 

Thus, we strongly need your help!! We need you to talk up our project to your fellow firefighters, EMT/PM's, LEO's, and rescue squad specialists. We need you to "spread" the word to your family, friends, neighbors, Aunt Grace and crazy ol' Uncle Charlie! Moreover, if you work for a company whose primary target audience is in the fire-rescue service, we need you to tell them about our show and see if you can pique their interest. Now, don't worry that you have to "sell" them. That will be our job. We will be happy to flight out to wherever your company is based and meet with them to explain the entire process.

So, that's the how we need you and the why we need you. Please remember, we are currently not requesting contributions or donations of any kind. We do, however need your smarts and your talking help. In the old days, we might have deputized all of you to "ride with the marshal." We don't do that anymore, but we ask you to remember one very important fact: We are doing this for each and every one of you. This will be a family show that demonstrates the important jobs we do and all that we face, that most people have no idea about.

If you have any questions or just want to chat about the show, feel free to send us a Direct Message on Twitter (@DalmatProd) or on Facebook (once logged in, search for Dalmatian Productions, Inc.) We will get back to you as quickly as possible.

We thank you in advance for your help and support. God bless!

Steven S. Greene
President
Dalmatian Productions, Inc.





Follow us on Twitter: @DalmatProd and Read our Blog at www.bit.ly/DalmatProd

See the pilot episode of “America’s Heroes: The Men & Women of Fire/Rescue®, at: http://bit.ly/1hvSYxH

And Remember - EVERYONE GOES HOME!


 

Thursday, October 8, 2015

How Do You "Deliver" a TV Show?

Wow! We just finished our second Periscope broadcast. And a big "thank you" to those of you who tuned in and to those who sent tweets afterward. They are very much appreciated. So in this entry to our blog, I'm going to put into the written word what I discussed on the Periscope broadcast.

As we've explained over the last several months, the sole reason for our company, Dalmatian Productions, Inc., since its inception, was to create and produce quality television programs about the American fire service. The problem was that we were working before our time. Initially, our goal was to produce a couple of reality TV shows (before "reality" came to mean the distasteful stuff we see today) about our jobs. We had a show about volunteers and paid-on-call members and another about career departments. We had placed letters in all the top industry magazines and received hundreds of entries from departments all over the country. We got to work and shot two different pilot episodes. By the summer of 2001, we were gaining interest:
1. I was sought out to write a segment on fire prevention week for the then, Rosie O'Donnell show.
2. While in Israel that July, I was asked to return to Israel in the fall to produce an Israeli version of our show, "America's Heroes: The Men & Women of Fire-Rescue" for Israeli television.
3. Our distributor was getting interest from American cable and satellite networks for the pilot. 

Sounds good, right? WRONG! 9|11 happened. 

Besides being emotionally crushed and devastated, we knew that we had to stop all activity dealing with the fire service. For even though everyone we were dealing with knew that we, ourselves either were or had been members of the fire-rescue service, we did not want to appear that we were trying to use this horrible tragedy for our own purposes.

Over the years, we developed numerous other ideas for pilots, but they all fell within the broad concept of "reality." And over and over again, the TV networks weren't interested in good stuff about our jobs, but instead, wanted us to create a show that would disparage the fire service and hold it out to ridicule. We adamantly refused. 

Then, several years ago, I came up with the concept for "Cause & Origin." We bounced it around with different thoughts and ideas and finally, arrived at what we have today. And this is where YOU come in! 

To produce the pilot episode of "Cause & Origin," we have to generate a significant amount of cash. Watch any one-hour drama on TV today and you'll get a brief idea of what it takes to produce a show. Add to that the costs we will incur for the special effects and real fires, coverage, etc. and that gives you an idea of the mountain we're facing. Thus, our inclination to use crowdfunding to raise the money, a la "Veronica Mars," movie revival.

However, before we can even begin the campaign, we need to know if you, your family, your friends, your coworkers, etc., would like to see a dramatic series about the fire service. There has not been one since the days of "EMERGENCY!," "CODE RED," and "FIREHOUSE." Well, do you? And if you do have the interest, would you be willing to make a donation to our crowdfunding campaign to help make it happen? Well, would you?

That's it! That's what we need to know. So, we're asking you for your help....not your wallet...at least not yet! What we need to know right now is would you like to see this show and would you make a donation (even one dollar!) to help us create it?

To let us know, please send a tweet to us. That's all we need for now. Easy right?

Thanks for reading this entry and remember, #StaySafe and EVERY ONE GOES HOME!

Monday, September 28, 2015

#FFHI2015 - FireFighter Health Initiative of 2015

I'm sick and I'm sick and tired of being sick. No really, I am actually sick with a bad URI, that's on the verse of bronchitis. But I'm sicker even than that. Though I'm on the mend, I awoke this morning to find two #LODD notices in my mailbox, both for basically "middle-aged" men and both due to preventable health issues. And those two obits come on the heal of a third, that occurred over the weekend, when another brave FF passed, after nearly a week in the hospital following his collapse on the scene of a run. Again, due to preventable health issues. Well, we're tired of reading those #LODD notices and their subsequent obituaries; about the families left behind and hundreds, if not thousands who show up at their funerals. 

Listen, we all know and understand that this is a big, dangerous "game" that we play. It's always the same, us (Humans) versus him (The Red Devil). And because we play this game, we know the Red doesn't always play by the rules, so it is up to us to do so. And we do, day after day, we do. However, we have a good idea as to how this game is played, and thank Heaven above, the winning percentage has gained year after year in recent time. That's right. Fewer of us have lost the game and therefore, fireground fatalities are being reduced most years. Although a great many of us were reluctant to accept all the
"modern" safety codes and requirements issued by the #NFPA, more and more do and thus the lessening of the losses.

But if you ask me, we're missing the boat. We are so gung-ho to get on our apparatus when those tones sound off in the station or on our pagers, that we have lost sight of the most important factor: What happens if we don't take care of ourselves well enough to allow us to even stay on the job? It appears that we're nearly at 60% of the #LODD for 2015 have been health related. And sadly, our own colleagues are the ones to respond to those terrifying calls, at our home, at the firehouse, on the fireground, etc. It's too much....IT'S TOO GODDAM MUCH!! AND WE HAVE TO MAKE A CHANGE!!

With that, we creating a hashtag, #FFHI2015 - The FireFighter Health Initiative 2015. THIS IS WHERE WE WILL DRAW A LINE IN THE SAND!! 

We're asking you...no, we're begging you to join us today. Make this hashtag #FFHI2015 part of your life. If you are a Chief officer reading this, this applies double for you. Why? Because this both applies to you as a firefighter and applies to you as a leader of your department to see to it that the #FFHI2015 is implemented in your department. If your a line officer, you're in the same boat as are the chiefs, you have to be willing to participate yourself and motivate your front-line members to do the same. And if you're an engineer, truckee, nozzle-jockey, or whatever, you owe both to your family and the community that you protect, to protect yourself.

No matter what your role is in firefighting, do you not owe it to your family, your friends, your co-workers to do the best job that you can? Ask yourself this: Is there anything you wouldn't do to? Would you walk into a fully involved buiding without full PPE? If you don't start taking care of yourself and soon, you might just as well! 

Are you afraid? Are you afraid that if you have to undergo a physical, it may disqualify you from active duty? Well, is that it? Tough to think about, isn't it. How would you care for your family, the house, etc.? That is a tough question. But here's one that even tougher...if you don't start taking care of yourself now, who will when you're dead and buried?

Look around you. See all your friends from work. See all your family. Do you think they'll think you any less of a person because you decided it's time to lose a few pounds and work out a bit?

OK, I've been able to vent this horrid feeling in me since this morning. But I will tell you this, we at Dalmatian Productions, Inc. believe in this issue so strongly that it will be worked into the long-term story line of our new TV show, "Cause & Origin(c)"

Now #StaySafe and Let's Make Sure #EveryOneGoesHome

Steve, Rich, Tom & Jesse

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Role, Role, Role Your Career and See Where You Will Go...

Ha! I bet you thought I meant to say, "Row, row, row your boat." right? Fooled you! I didn't. I actually meant it the way I wrote it. Why?

Think of it this way. When we decide to be a firefighter, no matter if we choose firefighting as a career, as a volunteer or as a combination of the two, on-call, we begin a new career for ourselves. If firefighting will be your profession, then you want to make the best of it. If it is to be an avocation, well maybe advancement may not be a concern. Perhaps you want to be the best firefighter you can.

That entire picture and its focus change if you have a desire to advance your career. Advance? Simply put, not being a black helmet for your entire experience in the fire service. Most departments have helmets of other colors to denote rank, often red infers a line officer, white, a chief officer, and other colors for specialty personnel. However, no matter the color of the helmet, each one requires a significant amount of both effort and ability to gain a new piece of the "fire rainbow." 

I only spent eight years in active service, four in the Greensboro NC area in both fire and EMS work, plus another four years in the Syracuse NY area. I didn't run for an officer's rank for two reasons. First was because I was unsure if my full-time job that often cost me 60-80 hours per week, would impede on my ability to the the job often enough and adequately. Second was due to the fact that officers were elected. Just because I had a good time with a guy who was funny, had more years in than me, and was popular with the ladies, didn't necessarily mean that I wanted to go through that door into that flaming hallways with him telling me what to do.

Instead, I watched my officers and chiefs. Plus, my own job required me to develop strong leadership skills. And thankfully, I was able to convince my employers to send me to various seminars where I could learn even more. Whatever I absorbed from the seminars, I brought back with me to assist me in improving my job performance. My employers deserved that!

For example, on one occasion, my employer, (a non-profit organization) sent me to a fund-raising seminar in New York. The first day was amazing with methods, advice, ideas, etc., not for my employer, but for my fire department. The second day was very weak, so I left the meeting and headed over to the nearest FDNY firehouse, where I was invited to lunch and to ride on a couple of calls with the BC in the house.

Upon my return a made a full report to the executive committee of my employer. As expected, they blew it off as too simple or too "pedestrian" for them. Instead, I took it with me and presented it at the next department business meeting. Up until that time, our fundraising efforts were very weak, but several of these ideas caught some good attention. A couple of months later, we began our first ever, direct-mail fundraiser. In three weeks time, we collected over $17,000 in donations. Suddenly, I was a "hero" and popular. Did that qualify me to become elected a lieutenant? I don't think so. In 1983, that was like hitting the state lottery! We did it again the following year and almost doubled the amount and my understanding is that they do it every year.

Since I left active service due to an injury back in 1985, I never left the fire service or let it leave me. I constantly read industry magazines. I'd visit firehouses wherever I lived and wherever I visited. The fire service is as much a part of me as is my religious faith. Moreover, my vocation required me to learn and gain more leadership skills. And through that effort, I learned a lot more about myself.

I learned that when reacting to an unexpected situation, there was no need to "shoot from the hip." Instead, I learned to gather as much information as possible, digest it, and develop a proper, well-thought out response. I learned that being the loudest voice in the room did not make me a leader. I learned that being the largest "presence" (psychologically and/or physically) did not make me a leader. I learned that letting my anger loose before I had considered all the facts, didn't make me a leader.

So, what did I find did make me a leader. Being knowledgeable, calm and able to communicate instructions or directions to all made me a better leader. I learned that asking people to perform a task instead of ordering them to perform the very same task, made me a better leader. Not only that, these traits also made me a better person, a better husband and father. 

More importantly, after I became disabled in 1992 at the tender age of forty, I had to deal with a my life being turned upside down. And it occurred just two months after purchasing our dream home. Now what would I do? The answer was right in front me. My daughters were young and in school. And once I recovered from my surgery, I involved myself in their lives, driving them to school, from elementary through high school. I found part-time jobs that interested me. 

I will not lie to you and say that it was all peaches and cream. It wasn't. I drifted into some very dark places in my head. Here I went from earning an almost six-figure income to existing on a private disability policy and my wife's income from working four different teaching jobs. I wasn't the man I wanted to be. I wasn't the man I thought they wanted me to be. 

Thankfully, I had good friends. Not mere acquaintances, but real, true friends. They helped me through the rough times. And they taught me even more about being a good leader. That was that I didn't have to shoulder my burdens all by myself. I had people who were ready, willing and able to assist me. I also learned that no matter my physical condition on any given day, I should try to improve something about myself every day. For no matter how much we want to or how hard we try, we can never, ever re-gain time we have lost or wasted. It's gone. That's it! 

Now, it's your turn. Do you want to be a leader; a strong, influential, and well-respected leader? If so, know that if you really want to do it, you can and you will. Just follow the best path to get there. Be the leader that you would want to follow. 

And #StaySafe!