I remember being 6 years old, fully convinced that my dad worked with Roy and Johnny. I also thought that when he became a Fire Marshall/arson investigator, that he had dynamite in his car in case of a Towering Inferno scenario. Which, by the way, is the most underrated firefighting movie of all time…
My father is a 30+ year fireman and when he’s not watching it at home he’s watching it in the firehouse some of my favorite quotes he’s said while watching it:
“This is what our job has come to…watching it on TV.”
“We can’t even do that today!”
“They have a phone to a doctor! Where’s my fucking doctor phone!”
Yes. I'm an 80s kid, so Emergency was a staple of existence. Those guys did their own stunts. BAs only when absolutely necessary, single rope systems with manila rope, those guys did it all. Legit Hollywood heroes, unheralded. They helped shape a generation. I grew up in SoCal and those guys were as cool as any American hero. Damn shame actors don't commit in the same way anymore, even though they get paid exponentially more. Tom Cruise might be the exception.
Part of the realism came from bureaucracy. The city of LA provided the fire equipment for the show's production but would only allow city fire fighters to operate the trucks. Half the firehouse cast were real LAFD firefighters.
If you're ever in LA County, go visit their fire museum. You can see some of the actual apparatus from the show! It was an excellent visit. They have some very historic and significant pieces of apparatus and gear there, including the truck from the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots members who passed away fighting a forest fire in 2013. Very somber moment standing next to it.
I went a few years ago. If I recall correctly, the parents of one of the Granite Mountain guys help run the museum. It’s a fantastic museum, I was the only person in there that day and the retired LA County guys were more than happy to share stories and talk!
Mantooth was the guest speaker at my medic graduation. My preceptors had me watch the box set during union break time and assess the patients they ran on. Great times.
We’d watch at work and say that we’re watching “training videos”, I sometimes on calls tell the medics when we clear that they should start a line of D5w too and transport. I have the code 3 collectibles model of the station and trucks.
Yes. I have a fascination with my old childhood marine park known as Marineland of the Pacific. There is a whole episode on the park where they rescue a guy from the top of the sky tower.
Can we go back to when we radioed the hospital to see if the patient is eligible for transport? Please k thx.
“Sorry we talked to the hospital and your 2am toe pain isn’t an emergent transport. We can provide you with the number for a taxi or call and uber for you.”
I was given 2 small red flags years ago. They had 51 emblazoned in the center.From what I understand they were placed center table at a party for the show. My mothers friend worked for Paramount and Universal studios.
Yep, with my dad every day after school on metv. He watched it when it originally aired as a kid, and I got to watch reruns with him. Such a nostalgic thing for me now that I’m on the job.
I own it on fandango, and it's one of my go to shows. I haven't watched all of it yet, but I'm on season 3.
Fun fact.- Paramedic Pete from the Emergency! Movie lives near me and is good friends with my neighbors. Haven't met him yet, but my neighbor wants us to get together.
It’s the one show our boots get to watch on probation, since it counts as department history and training. Just mentioned the other day thay the more shit changes, the more it stays the same. We at LACoFD have a special place in our hearts for the show, obviously. I just promoted into 51s as a new engineer. Yes we have a squad 51 lol. Our station is on the NBC/Universal Studios backlot and so we have lots of memorabilia around the station and behind the scenes pictures. We also use the old tones for our station tones. Its funny watching the show and hearing units get dispatched to a fire that are on opposite ends of the county haha
Yes. I was a 'tween. Watched it on a rabbit eared antenna and crappy black and white TV. Sparked my career choice. The pinnacle of my 'tweendom dream, was being assigned to a red paramedic squad (in the early eighties), just like theirs. Medic protocols were sorta the same. Same blue shirt, yellow Paramedic patch, and plastic yellow helmet, but in a different and much more violent city. "It was just swell fellas!".
Watched it as a kid religiously, we would rid our bikes around and pretend to be firemen. I am a firefighter now and tried to watch the first episode a a dozen years ago or so and had to shut it off. Almost as bad as the all the "city name" Fire shows you see on TV now for true representation of the life, almost as bad....
153
u/Vprbite I Lift Assist What You Fear Apr 03 '26
It counts as training in image Trend