MovieChat Forums > Firehouse Dog (2007) Discussion > Questions to firemen or ones that may kn...

Questions to firemen or ones that may know. Contains Spoilers

posted 17 years ago by txparrotlegal
1 reply | jump to latest

1. At the end of the movie when the captain/dad is breaking down the big garage door of the firehouse with an ax & then goes in, shouldn’t he have already had his breathing tank/mask on? Is it because firehouse captains usually don’t go into the fire? Their job is to give orders & supervise the scene?

2. Also, in that same scene, Joe doesn’t have a fire suit, helmet, etc, on. Do fire stations have someone who’s sole responsibility is to drive the truck, radio into dispatch, work the pressure of the water tank/engine (or whatever it is called) & truck ladder?

3. At the scene where the dad’s on one side of the metal door, Shane & Dewey on the other, Shane tells him to break the glass & give him the ax so he can break off the door hinges and dad tells him, “If I break the glass the fire is going to flash over.” How come it didn’t and wouldn’t it be the same for the door as well? I guess I don’t understand how a flash over happens/why it happens, or what it is exactly.

I also want to say to all the firemen who may read this,
THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO!!!!

[–] poghia 17 years ago

To answer your question,

1. Yes, when the captain entered the firehouse through the apparatus door after forcing entry, he should'vebeen wearing his breathing tank and mask, otherwise known as an SCBA. As for the captain entering the fire or not, all fire departments have different ways of doing things. Some places have officers enter and others have their officers stay outside for the most part.

2. Joe's job is to drive the truck and operate the pump. The name for this job varies from department. The more common names for this job are: pump operator, motor pump operator, chauffuer, and engineer. If he were assigned to a ladder company, then his job at the fire scene would be to operate the ladder. That's his sole assigned job. The reason why he doesn't wear any gear is because it's difficult to drive when wearing full bunker gear. Depending on the department and even the individual, they might just wear their class B uniform while driving and on a scene, or they might just wear their bunker pants.

3. As far as the supposed flashover scene, just kick that one out as typical Hollywood and enjoy the rest of the movie. In reality, a flashover is the simultaneous ignition of all combustible material in an enclosed area. Flashover occurs when the majority of surfaces in a space are heated to the point at which they give off flammable gases that are hot enough to sustain combustion. In laymans terms, everything in an area reaches its ignition point and you have fire that's unsurvivable.

On the job since 2000.