When You Least Expect It!

Our post's title, "When You Least Expect It," is quite apropos to two topics we wanted to address today. The first is some good news about our show, "CAUSE & ORIGIN." Word arrived this morning that one of our L.A. contacts has reached out to one of the most well-known and prolific writers of episodic television and will be sending him the paperwork about the show. It goes without saying that there are no guaranties or promises, but it is a chance to have a "fresh pair of experienced eyes," to look at our story and let us know if we have something of value or we're just spinning our wheels. We look at it this way: We've always been told that to do what we're trying to do is all about networking, i.e. who you know! Thus, this is our opportunity to have someone in the business look at the show and provide some honest feedback.

The second topic that today's Post applies to is our everyday lives as firefighters, medics, LEO's, etc. We could be having a great day. Not too busy with calls, some excellent training time and a great lunch. Then, the tones go off and you're dispatched to, what you think is going to be a "routine" call.

Why did I put quotation marks around the word, "routine?" Because that word doesn't frickin' belong in our vocabulary! There is no "routine" is emergency services! That's all there is to it. Routine leads to complacency and complacency leads to injury and/or death. 

If you've got some history on your boots and turn-out gear, think back to all those dispatches to calls that, as you're putting on your PPE, you think, "Oh crap. Another routine call! When are we gonna get a worker?!?!" And you respond to the scene.

Suddenly, what you thought would be a "routine" call, turns into a full-fledged emergency, requiring additional units, personnel, etc. And it happened, "When You Least Expected It!"

So, remove the word "routine" from your vocabulary. Always be ready for the unexpected!

Please don't forget to pick up a copy of my book, "Fish Out of Water - 2 Jewish Guys in a Deep South Firehouse," available at Amazon . Part of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Now, get out there and Stay Safe!

Coming Attractions...

What's next from Dalmatian Productions? 

For  several months we have been planning to launch a podcast that will feature many of the guests we have met using Twitter (@DalmatProd & @Cause_Origin). Luckily, we already have several who have agreed to participate with us. 

Our show will provide you with the opportunity to hear subject matter that interests you! As we are all aware, we in the fire-rescue service, as well as our "family members" in EMS and Law Enforcement, we're faced with new ideas, situations and reactions almost every day. Thus, the goal of our podcast will be to invite many of the best in the field to chat with us and share their thoughts and concerns.

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that one of our key concerns is firefighter health and wellness; you can be sure that will be a frequent topic for the show. As will topics such as, recruitment & retention, training, job stress and PTSD, arson, juvenile fire starters, and much more.

We will announce the name of the podcast in the next few days and we are planning to premier the first show in the next two-three weeks.

Until then, please join us on Twitter or drop us a line at info@dalmatianproductions.tv with your comments or ideas for stories that you would like to hear.

Stay Safe 

Steve Greene

p.s. Please don't forget to drop by "Fish Out of Water - 2 Jewish Guys in a Deep South Firehouse"  to pick up a copy of my book. Remember, part of the proceeds from the book will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

New Endeavors - New Changes - Whe

BULLETIN...BULLETIN....

READ IT ALL ABOUT IT!!

New autobiographical firefighting book is released on Amazon-Kindle!!

 

If you've been wondering where we've been, this little picture above will tell you the first part of the story. I am very happy to announce the publishing of my first book, "Fish Out of Water - 2 Jewish Guys in a Deep South Firehouse." It is available on Amazon's Kindle format at http://preview.tinyurl.com/NCFirefighting.

 

A lot of people will not realize that there truly is a juxtaposition of the words, "Jewish," and "firefighting." Why? Because not too many of us enter this amazing profession as a career or even as a volunteer. And why is that? Back in my day it was because most Jewish parents want to see their children grow up to be doctors, lawyers, dentists, surgeons, CPA's etc. In all my years of synagogue work, not once did I ever hear a parent tell me that their son or daughter was joining a volunteer fire department or the local rescue squad.

 

However, I was different. I set my own path when the opportunity presented itself and joined a combination fire department just outside Greensboro NC and a couple of years later, accepted a paid position with Guilford County EMS.

 

I won't bother you with the why's and how's here. It's all spelled out in the book. More importantly, this decision afforded me to meet another Jewish young man who is still my best friend, these nearly forty years later.

 

There are plenty of great stories, exciting calls and more. From basic training to high-level rescue, from firehouse pranks to extremely serious calls, I've included it all. So please, pick up a copy and feel free to le me know what you thought of it.

And now back to our show...

 

I'm glad to let you know that we are once again making forward progress on our show, "Cause & Origin." Our Los Angeles-based partner has secured a new agent for us and her job will be to provide us with the entrée needed to submit the treatment and script to various studios and production companies. Thankfully, our partner has numerous contacts that he can direct her to and we're hoping their combined networking will result in some positive interest.

 

Along that line of thought, it was just announced that the City of Philadelphia has named a new Fire Commissioner, who will assume office in the near future. All of us at Dalmatian Productions, Inc. and Cause & Origin, LLC want to thank outgoing Commissioner Sawyer for his leadership of this great department and his eager interest in working with us on the show. We just hope he'll pass his recommendation on to his replacement.

 

Finally, some of you may have heard about the weird weather up in the Greater Boston area last week. I did. That's because I was frickin' in the middle of it!! Here it was, April 3rd and snow was pummeling us, along with winds reaching 40-50 mph! The next day, April 4th was to be opening day at Fenway Park for the Red Sox! No frickin' way! We were hit with a second snow storm that dropped another 3-4 inches and the game had to be postponed!

 

Boston - Strong!!! You got to love it!

Now - Stay Safe and Let's Make Sure Everyone Goes Home!

 



 

 



Are We Ready???

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Well, are we? Are we, America's first responders, ready to face a multi-faceted terrorist attack as occurred in Brussels today? Are we ready for an attack like we experienced in Oklahoma City? Are we ready for an attack of the 9|11 ilk? How is the Lord's name do we even attempt to answer any of these questions? As I write this, NBC News is stating that authorities are warning that today's attacks are just the first of a coming wave of terrorist acts against the civilized world.

Personally, I'm able to bring an even closer experience, from the school year I spent in Israel in 1975-1976, when Arab terrorists began their assault on innocent citizens in the City of Jerusalem and other areas. Not only that, while volunteering on the Israeli version of "Neighborhood Watch," my partner and I actually came across suspects waiting to possibly attack the King David Hotel. We reported their vehicle to the Border Police and were involved in a chase. They got away. That time.

However, to make a significant change, we must change the pronoun from "we" to "us." This is not a Belgian problem! It is not an Israeli problem! It is not even a U.S. problem! This terrorist group is a threat to every civilized country in the world. Anyone, no matter your citizenship, your faith or the color of your skin, is at risk. Your safety is at risk, your thought processes are at risk, everything that you believe in is at risk.

President Reagan once made an interesting comment to both the Russian Premier and the United Nations. He postulated that if our planet was attacked by some malevolent alien force, how we would quickly put aside all our differences and unite to fight the enemy to save the human race. (Of course, that was LONG before the movie, "Independence Day!")

But think of what his message means. Is that not similar to what is happening to us now. Are we not under attack by an outside group who believe they have the right to dictate the law of every land, as they see it and death to all those who disagree?

It is time that we face the truth of what is happening in the civilized world. We must come together to preserve the choices we are privileged to enjoy, that we can agree to disagree and use no weapon greater than words of disagreement. For if we do not, we will be looking over our shoulders, every day, every where we go. Is that what are lives should be about?

#StaySafe
 

Do You Get It Now?

If you subscribe to any of the fire service news services, e.g. Firehouse.com, Fire Engineering, etc., the news hit us across the face this morning. The State of Wisconsin lost another firefighter to cancer. But not just any firefighter. Firefighter/Paramedic Marcia Rosecky was the first female firefighter in the State of Wisconsin. And her death has been judged as Line of Duty, due to the fact that her cancer was a direct result of her work and exposure during her firefighting service.

I might venture now, almost fifteen years after 9|11, many of us either know a firefighter who has contracted a line-of-duty cancer or know of someone who has. "Back in the day," in the relative short period of eight years I was active, we had virtually never heard the words, "firefighter" and "cancer" in the same sentence. And those of us who also were in EMS work had not yet heard the word, "AIDS," either. But we sure as shit know it now!

If you've had some significant time in the fire service, think back to some of the crap you've dealt with. Think of all the stuff on your PPE. Think of all the times you took your rehab break and went back inside to help with overhaul, no mask, no turnout coat. You're pulling those walls and ceilings and all the toxins and other shit that have been carbonized, start falling on top of you or is inhaled by you. What is it doing inside you right now? Ever bother to wonder?

Some of the best voices in the fire service today have called on all departments, career, volunteer, combo and on-call, to begin a prophylactic program to help shield firefighters from this type of exposure. Additionally, each of us has a responsibility to make sure all of our PPE is properly and thoroughly cleaned at regular intervals.

Today, March 3, 2016, we begin the third month of the first quarter of 2016. Many people are in the habit of making resolutions for the new year. Here we are, over two months in and what have you done to take better care of yourself?

Started an exercise regimen? ("Naw, I get enough exercise on the job!)

Started a weight loss program? (What? And give up the great food that we cook in the barn?)

Made an appointment with your personal physician or the fire surgeon for a physical or an evaluation of vitals and blood? ("I don't have time to go see a doctor. I got 2 jobs beside the 'Job, three kids and a wife!")

There are probably another half dozen or more questions we could and should ask ourselves. And most of us will have the same excuses to answer those questions, as well.

We're all slow to adapt to change. It's in our human make-up. But that doesn't mean we can't change. Take a look around you. See your buddies in the firehouse, see your family and other loved ones. What will you tell them if you're diagnosed with some form of job-related cancer? "I coulda, woulda, shouda?"

Think about it. Make the FFHI2016 (The Firefighters' Health Initiative 2016) a vital part of your life.

 

"How Do You Open the Door?"

It's been more than twenty years that four former and current emergency first responders decided that it was time for a quality TV show about the brave men and women of the Fire-Rescue services. We started by working in the new television genre called, "reality." We went through three complete iterations and pilots. However, unless you lived in the Middle or Far East, you never saw it. Although it's said that "imitation is the best form of flattery," one cable network actually took our format to produce their own show. Sure, we used some legal wrangling to stop it, but it certainly didn't advance our cause.

Since then, we developed numerous treatments for many different types of shows that all involved the fire-rescue service. Then, several years ago, we decided that maybe reality television had evolved beyond a format conducive to this type of program. Instead, we developed a limited series drama, still about the fire-rescue service, but with key elements that have worked for many of the top television dramas of the past and present. We even secure the cooperation of the city and fire department where the show would be "shot." This show would not only entertain, but educate as well. There's no doubt that is would score a bulls-eye in the desperately sought demos of advertisers. Plus, with over one million firefighters, plus EMT's and paramedics, plus their coworkers, family and friends, a multi-layered audience is assured.

Thus the title of this post, "How do you open the door?" Sure, we understand that every Tom, Dick, Jane and Harry are scrambling to send in their pitches to every broadcast or streaming entity. However, sometimes you have separate the chaff from the real kernel and see that there are some excellent ideas that come through. We've gone so far as to write the entire pilot script and outlined a three-season, limited-series run for the show. Twelve episodes a season for three seasons.

Listen, no one knows better than we do that we are not big name producers with lots of credits on our resumes. Yet we've tested both the synopsis and script with dozens of folks both within the field and civilians. Every single reaction has been, "excellent - 5 stars."

What's the problem? The problem is that firefighters are only "popular" after a major incident. We see a great rescue or major fire on the news and everyone  ooh's and ahh's. The next day, the firefighters are the root of all the budget problems facing the community.

Unlike most of you who might be reading this post, the men and women of fire-rescue, whether they are career, volunteer or paid-on-call, risk their lives every single time that they answer an alarm. If you have an emergency and dial 911, you want them there immediately no matter what they were doing when the bells rang.

Or maybe it's because too many people believe that firefighters have a real cushy job these days. True, the numbers of fires are lower than twenty years ago, however the ones that do occur have become much more serious due to the materials being used in them; let alone the several hundred-fold increase in EMS calls, where fire-rescue personnel are first to respond. 

All we are asking for is a chance. A chance to present the concepts, synopsis and script for a compelling drama that blends some of the most successful TV themes with the fire service. If you'd like to read either of our documents, drop us a line as info@causeandorigin.tv. 

Posted on my LinkIn(R) page this afternoon.

The Answer is No!

A quick note to announce that Amazon Studios notified us today that, after evaluating, "CAUSE & ORIGIN," they have taken a pass.
Our thanks to the 30 people who, in the last 30 days, took the time from their busy schedules, to support our endeavor.