FDNY/Third Watch Uniforms

[FFEMT545]

Could anybody please fill me in on the following:

1. Are the uniforms worn by the cast of Third Watch the exact unforms worn by FDNY firefighters?

2. In both the TV series and real life, are the uniforms of the EMTs, paramedics, and firefighters the same?

[firefiftyfive]

They seem to be pretty accurate with the uniforms. As for everything else related to the fire department in NY, they are close but lack in areas like equipment and the way things are really done!

[ThNozzleman]

...and the way things are really done!

No doubt; "Turd Watch" is terrible.

[Dave1105]

Lets face it, a television show that portrayed the fire service EXACTLY how it is would be plain boring most of the time.

So what if they spice things up a little, it's entertainment, not a documentry.

[Robertsc]

Isn't Third Watch that cop show? pretty much stopped watching it wanted to see firefighters but all i see is cops. Wait isn't there NYPD blue

[Explorer129]

Third watch makes me laugh. They are suppose to film in location, "55 precinct," but they film in long island city, brooklyn heights, lower east side, and in jersey. Just somethin funny I noticed =]

[firefiftyfive]

hahahahahaha...."TURD WATCH" ..I like that Nozzleman!

[MattyJ]

From what I've seen, the uniforms are about the only thing that are realistic. Almost everything else isnt even close ( ems and fire do not share quarters, a fire officer is not the emts boss, etc.....)
It is what it is....fiction.

[ThNozzleman]

I think they should be required to run a disclaimer before the show, just like the one shown before South Park airs. It should state that all firefighters and EMS workers are impersonated; poorly. And, that this show should be watched by no one.

[ItsADirtyJob]

Ok, I've got to admit it....Although I agree alot of the show is fiction, and crappy fiction at that, I feel enticed to watch it!

[ADSNWFLD]

Christ, it is a TV show not a training video.

At liest it isn't LA firefighters. Take it for what it is a tv drama.

I guess you guys don't like ER because the fire rigs were not black over red.

"they film in long island city, brooklyn heights, lower east side, and in jersey"

So what. LA station 51's first due district was half of CA. IT IS A TV SHOW.

[Robertsc]

Originally posted by ADSNWFLD
Christ, it is a TV show not a training video.

I guess you guys don't like ER because the fire rigs were not black over red.

Wow didn't notice that i watched ER i noticed they weren't black over red so much for consistency and accuracy.

[cozmosis]

Originally posted by Explorer129
Third watch makes me laugh. They are suppose to film in location, "55 precinct," but they film in long island city, brooklyn heights, lower east side, and in jersey. Just somethin funny I noticed =]

How is that funny? To my knowledge, there is no 55th Precinct in New York City. The closest they get numerically is the 52nd in the Bronx and 60th in Brooklyn. So, this means that the precinct (like the show) is fictional... They can tape it wherever they want it to be taped.

With that said, I've noticed some glaring screw ups lately while watching the show. A couple of episodes ago, they had a patient in the back of the ambulance on a NRB mask. They showed a close up of the patient's face while you overheard the medic tell the hospital that the patient was intubated. Certainly, Third Watch has technical advisors... Too bad they seem to be paying less attention to detail than they once did.

[Dickey]

I saw a show on the behind the scenes of Third Watch. They stated they have current firefighters on the show, current firefighters drive the apparatus, and retired firefighters as advisors. There really is no "55". The show wanted to create a house that wasn't already in service so there was no preferential treatment. The show's producers want to portray as accurate as possible and even rode with FDNY and NYPD to get a base to work with.

My opinion is they are showing more "cop stuff" than "fire stuff."

Maybe someone in the FDNY can explain further. Do FDNY EMS and the FDNY share houses together now after the merge or are there seperate houses for EMS???

Something I have always wondered I guess.

_______________________
Lt.Jason Knecht
Altoona Fire Rescue
Altoona, WI

[E40FDNYL35]

Originally posted by Dickey
Maybe someone in the FDNY can explain further. Do FDNY EMS and the FDNY share houses together now after the merge or are there seperate houses for EMS???

Something I have always wondered I guess.

_______________________
Lt.Jason Knecht
Altoona Fire Rescue
Altoona, WI

We are two Departments under one banner. We are seperate. Third Watch is a TV show.

[Dickey]

Thank you for the clarification.

Still, the show is entertainment. Like someone else said, not training. Just a modern day Emergency!
___________________
Lt.Jason Knecht
Altoona Fire Rescue
Altoona, WI

[captstanm1]

Speaking of Third Watch..... Did anyone watch it last night (11/21)???? Now that is some real defensive driving done by doc! I wonder how long it will be before some numbskull tries that for real. I think Doc is on the verge of being psyhcotic!

I also watch the show (obviously) but I am quick to notice and point out things such as an intubated patient who is on a NRB...

Also...I know they are portraying Sully as the "Old School" but I have my doubts that NYPD allows officers to still carry 6 shot revolvers (.38 calibers at that).

Anyone notice that the new female character closely resembles the one lost last year?

[firefiftyfive]

Has anyone noticed how HOT that female Peurto Rican cop is?....WOW

[Fire304]

OH come on guys, didn't we have this conversation about a year ago? Oh yeah we did, here's what I said then...

It's an evening soap, just happens to be based around fire fighters, medics, and cops instead of texas oil barons or doctors in an emergency room. Hollywood never shows real life, because its not "real" enough for the screen, big or small. I'm a mechanic, a firefighter, an EMT, a sailor, a former Marine, and I have a degree in law enforcement, so almost everything I watch I catch horrible inaccuracies. White Squall is as bad as Backdraft to me. And forget about the Dukes of Hazard, driving around with their shifter in park (look for it next time you see the show). How about CSI using Bullard TIC cameras to look through a walls to see what the occupants were doing inside? And that last episode of Star Treck, Picard used a spanner aligner when obviously he should of used a hypo driver on the warp tranformers while Spock did nothing to stop him!

That said, I never miss an episode of 3rd. I think it (and ER) are good entertainment. Sometimes they go off too far on one tangent, like forgeting about the woman medic/firefighter who got clocked by the car while her boyfriend doesn't say peep about her for 3 episodes but hey, its hollywood.

I grew up on Emergency! and Code Red, both horrible shows in themselves (although Hollywood had a different set of operating rules back them and were more into the "public service" aspects of shows like that) if fun to watch. The opening credits of Emergency! they are working a patient while a tanker truck full of some sort of hazardous material is threatening to blow a hundred feet behind them, not exactly where I'd want to start drugs on a patient.

[Fire304]

For the record...

The Third Watch's executive producer is John Wells who also produces ER.

The show's creator Ed Bernero was a cop in Chicago for 10 years.

I found this in an interview with Bernero at firechief.com dated Dec 2000 (click here for the full interview) http://firechief.com/ar/firefighting...hird/index.htm

Bernero: Well, naturally a lot of the cop stuff comes from me, the stuff that I did for 10 years. A lot of the paramedic things are holdovers from research that was done for "ER." The fire stuff we really don't have a model to go by, because no one is really doing a fire show. We realistically cannot do fires as often as we'd like because it's just prohibitively expensive. We do big fire, so generally we have to buy a place and burn it down.
...
Plus all of our extras are firemen, so if the actors don't get something right, the firemen give them a whole bunch of **** anyway. They laugh and say, "Oh, Mr. Hollywood."
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We have a great fire technical advisor; he's a chief in New York, Brian Dixon. Whenever we're doing fire stuff, he's on the scene. He checks our scripts and gives notes back. We have a New York paramedic technical advisor and a New York cop who work through the whole process with us writing the scripts.
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Technical advisor Brian Dixon A 30-year fdny veteran, Bttn. Chief Brian Dixon is a department public information officer and, along with a police officer and paramedic, a technical advisor for "Third Watch." His job is to make sure that the program represents "real life" while being open to the dramatic license television requires.
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Dixon: We shot around a firehouse in Long Island. We gave them access, but made sure that they didn't interfere with the company, because they're still in service. We reposition them and put them on the side so they can respond quickly.
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Dixon: Ah, the fire scenes. I think when I explain this to anyone, it's funny. Anyone in the fire service can tell we never see it reproduced correctly. It's difficult because smoke is all we see, but they can't use smoke because of the obvious health hazards for the cast and the crew. It's difficult to produce that same color smoke that makes us aware of what type of fire we have, where it's located, whether it's occupied or vacant. They cannot produce all the greens and browns and hues that trigger certain things in our minds.