Firefighter Anthony Martinez rates depictions of fires and firefighting scenes in movies and TV shows. He judges the realism of the apartment-building fires portrayed in "Spider-Man," starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Willem Dafoe; and "The King of Staten Island," starring Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, and Steve Buscemi. He breaks down how a real backdraft works in "Backdraft," starring Kurt Russell and Robert De Niro. He explains fire safety in supertall buildings as seen in "Skyscraper," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; and "The Towering Inferno," starring Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Faye Dunaway. He discusses building collapses in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. He walks through how firefighters escape burning buildings in "Chicago Fire." He analyzes how vehicle fires are portrayed in "Crash," starring Matt Dillon, Thandiwe Newton, and Sandra Bullock. Finally, he examines the house fires in "End of Watch," starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña; and "Ladder 49," starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix.
Anthony Martinez is a firefighter in New York City and has been one for nine years.
Anthony Martinez is a firefighter in New York City and has been one for nine years.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00 [fire crackling]
00:02 - I think it's stinging my [beep]
00:03 [fire crackling]
00:06 - You don't wanna do it because it looks unprofessional,
00:09 but believe it or not, that actually does work sometimes.
00:11 My name is Anthony Martinez.
00:14 I am a current active firefighter in New York.
00:18 I have been an active firefighter for nine years now.
00:21 Today, we are gonna be looking at firefighting scenes
00:24 in movies and TV shows and judge how real they are.
00:28 [dramatic music]
00:31 [fire crackling]
00:33 - Where are you?
00:34 [fire crackling]
00:36 Where are you?
00:37 - The fires that I have been to,
00:39 you're not gonna see anything.
00:41 I can tell you half the time that I go to a fire,
00:44 I actually close my eyes
00:46 because that's how much smoke is in the room.
00:48 So by touching items, you kind of get a better idea
00:52 and using your imagination on how the layout is.
00:57 [woman screaming]
00:58 - I'm gonna get you out of here!
00:59 [fire crackling]
01:01 - It does have the potential to create sparks.
01:05 When it comes to most of the buildings
01:08 that I've come across, when we've had a fire,
01:11 an active fire, one of the things that we do
01:13 as a firefighting team, our chauffeur usually will go in
01:17 and his job is to disengage the utilities.
01:22 And by doing so, at this point in that time of the fire,
01:26 there shouldn't be any electricity
01:28 that's on in the building.
01:30 [people shouting]
01:32 So I have witnessed one explosion.
01:38 The reason that explosion happened
01:40 was due to an issue with a gas line.
01:42 All it takes is enough gas to fill up the area
01:47 and at that point, you can definitely
01:49 have a massive explosion.
01:50 I would say I have to give it a four.
01:53 - Everything's gonna be okay.
01:54 The logistics panel should be to your left.
01:57 - I absolutely 100% agree with what they did
02:02 as far as putting a cover over their mouth.
02:05 The only thing I would have added to that
02:06 is trying to maintain a low profile.
02:09 The higher you are, the more perceptible you are
02:12 to smoke inhalation.
02:14 [man screaming]
02:16 We would never do that.
02:22 We actually do utilize moving from one building to another
02:27 as far as if it's a low-rise multiple dwelling
02:30 or another building that's adjacent to it,
02:33 but never on a high rise, not the way he's gonna do it.
02:36 - You're gonna fall through the fire.
02:37 The magnets are gonna kick back on
02:39 once you pass the fire line.
02:40 [fire crackling]
02:43 - If you cut off all the safety features on an elevator,
02:48 they can definitely ride through a fire like that.
02:52 But there are so many safeguards for elevators.
02:55 When an actual cable does break and it's on its descent
02:59 or even when it's going up,
03:01 those brakes will automatically lock.
03:03 As a civilian, you never should use an elevator
03:06 during a fire.
03:07 You wanna use the stairs
03:09 and actually descend away from the fire.
03:12 When an active fire does happen,
03:15 the outside vent firefighter will take over the elevators
03:18 and recall them down to the lobby floor.
03:21 I would give this scene a four.
03:24 [intense music]
03:27 - Doug, you got the keys?
03:28 Use 'em. - Gotta take...
03:29 [door slams]
03:31 - They still go in the building
03:33 and we're already doing a surround and drown.
03:37 At that point, it's an outside operation.
03:39 We would never go in.
03:40 We would get tower ladders
03:43 and we would surround the building
03:45 and dump as much water on it as possible.
03:49 - I think it's a pain in my [beep]
03:51 - Guys, it's open.
03:54 - I've been able to force some very hard doors
03:56 and wooden ones.
03:58 There are some that just, they are a real pain.
04:02 They are warped or they crack
04:05 and they just will not open up as easy.
04:07 And when you see him actually kick it,
04:09 believe it or not, that actually does work sometimes.
04:12 You don't wanna do it because it looks unprofessional,
04:14 but sometimes we'll turn around
04:16 and just give it a mule kick and it opens up.
04:19 [laughs]
04:21 [gunshots]
04:23 You'd be surprised how easy it is
04:27 to get through most of those structures.
04:29 Sometimes it's just sheet rock,
04:31 so you can actually punch your way through if you wanted to.
04:34 One thing I do give credit to this movie about
04:37 is anytime that we go in,
04:39 there's always two members going in,
04:41 two members coming out.
04:42 Even if there is more firefighters, we always pair up.
04:45 [gunshots]
04:48 - Latitude 23 rope, secondary search negative.
04:51 Going upstairs.
04:52 - One of the tools that he's using is a six foot pike hook.
04:56 We are looking for any embers that would look hot enough
05:00 where it could spark a rekindle.
05:03 'Cause all it takes is enough air
05:05 to pass through over an ember
05:07 and that whole structure could light up again.
05:10 - Here you go, buddy.
05:11 [gunshots]
05:14 [screams]
05:16 - They did a surrounding drown,
05:17 so normally we would not enter this premise.
05:20 So if you are gonna enter this premise,
05:23 we always bring a hook with us
05:25 and we always check the floor.
05:28 We would kick in front of us,
05:29 we would probe with our hook,
05:32 make sure that the floor is substantial
05:34 to support our weight.
05:35 So unfortunately, as much as I love this movie,
05:38 I would have to give it a five.
05:39 The only thing that deters me
05:41 from giving it a better score would be,
05:43 you know, going in after they're doing
05:45 a surrounding drown already.
05:47 [dramatic music]
05:50 I was actually very furious with this clip
06:00 because we drill on roof rope rescues
06:05 a lot with my department.
06:07 So when I saw him put the ax in
06:09 and use the rope around a vent pipe,
06:13 that's a big no-no
06:15 because that is not substantial enough
06:17 to hold the weight.
06:18 We look for anything that would be substantial.
06:22 A bulkhead maybe, or even if we had to,
06:25 worst case scenario, we would even cut
06:28 a part of the roof and actually tie off
06:30 to the actual structure of the roof
06:33 to rappel down.
06:34 They had a portable saw right there
06:35 that they could have used to actually cut
06:38 a decent enough hole to actually tie off
06:42 on a proper structure.
06:44 [glass shattering]
06:48 The chances of the window actually exploding like that,
06:52 it's very difficult to say because a lot
06:55 of these windows are tempered glass
06:57 and it's not as easy to break as you would think.
07:00 When the window actually does explode
07:03 and you see the glass shatter,
07:05 you see everybody actually look down.
07:08 That's actually correct.
07:09 The minute you hear any glass shatter,
07:11 you always wanna go and look down.
07:14 Last thing you want is glass in your eyes.
07:16 - This cable's stuck in my DCT.
07:18 I can't move.
07:19 - Okay, I want you to cut the black cable.
07:22 Pull your weight onto the rope.
07:24 Pop that cable free.
07:25 - He did give correct advice as far as cutting the cable
07:28 and trying to loosen it from the mechanism.
07:31 However, you can actually see two instances
07:35 where she almost lifts herself up.
07:37 Those are the no-no's
07:39 because the minute you go and take your weight
07:43 off that rope, it has the potential to loosen up the hook
07:47 or wherever it's tied off to
07:49 and you have a potential for a fall.
07:51 But as far as the realism goes,
07:53 they could've done a little better,
07:54 but I would still give it a seven
07:55 because the techniques are still there.
07:57 - Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
07:59 Make sure you check it first.
08:00 - Oh, yeah.
08:01 [dramatic music]
08:03 [glass shattering]
08:06 - There's a certain technique that we use
08:08 for actually forcing entry.
08:11 One of those techniques is,
08:12 first, you check the door for heat.
08:14 That is the first sign.
08:16 If it's hot, you know you're gonna have
08:18 something behind that door.
08:20 The next thing is, you never just break the door open.
08:24 We always go in and check the doorknob
08:26 and see if it opens up.
08:27 You'd be surprised how many people
08:29 actually leave their doors unlocked
08:30 and it makes forcing the door simple
08:34 just by opening the door like a gentleman.
08:38 - Clear.
08:39 [door slams]
08:40 Stay here.
08:41 - We have a tool called a halogen.
08:43 We would never use an ax.
08:44 That one tool has so many techniques
08:47 that you can use to get through many types of doors.
08:50 It has three pieces.
08:52 It's your pike end, your adze end, and your fork end.
08:55 - And.
08:57 [door slams]
09:00 - The way a backdraft actually occurs
09:04 during the decay stage,
09:06 the fire is actually swallowing up
09:08 all the oxygen in the room.
09:10 So when you see the smoke actually
09:12 being sucked back under the door,
09:14 that's because whatever combustible is still burning,
09:17 but it's about to die.
09:19 And the reason why you get that backdraft effect
09:22 is because when he opens the door,
09:24 he reintroduces oxygen into that smoke-filled room.
09:28 We actually have techniques to try to minimize
09:31 those type of situations.
09:32 We'll do something called a vertical ventilation
09:34 where we try to have either the roof firefighter
09:37 or whoever is above try to vent out
09:41 all the smoke from on top.
09:42 This way we can try to minimize
09:44 that explosion from happening.
09:46 [fire crackling]
09:49 That's actually very effective.
09:53 It's no different than having a blanket
09:55 and putting it on a person.
09:57 What you're essentially doing is trying to smother the fire
09:59 and take out the oxygen from the fire,
10:02 and two, for actually cooling off the individual
10:05 as well as the gear.
10:07 'Cause when your gear's on fire,
10:09 more than likely you're definitely in excess
10:12 of over 400 or 500 degrees.
10:14 Our bunker key is rated for a certain temperature.
10:17 However, it's not a save-all.
10:19 We do use it to go into hotter areas,
10:22 but we're only told to limit how much
10:26 we're allowed to go into a fire with our gear.
10:30 I would give this one a seven.
10:31 This is a classic movie scene.
10:34 I actually enjoyed watching this movie.
10:36 It was one of the reasons why I became a firefighter
10:38 to begin with.
10:38 - Open the door.
10:39 [dramatic music]
10:40 [explosion]
10:42 - 49, here comes your water.
10:44 - Hit it, hit it, go, hit it, hit it.
10:46 - I was actually glad that they showed the pump panel
10:49 because the chauffeur's job is one of the most important
10:51 jobs on the engine pump panel.
10:55 Without him and giving us water,
10:58 nobody's putting out any fires.
11:00 So that's actually really important.
11:02 You have your engine company,
11:04 their job is to put water on the fire.
11:06 The truck's job is search for life, search for fire.
11:10 We have multiple teams just on the truck alone.
11:13 It's cool to see Steve Buscemi actually partaking
11:17 in this clip.
11:18 He used to be a firefighter and he actually volunteered
11:21 his services during the September 11th clean-up.
11:26 [dramatic music]
11:29 [explosion]
11:31 I've been pretty close to a couple incidents
11:35 where fire's blowing out the window.
11:37 Regardless, we still have to go in,
11:40 especially if there's a potential sign of life hazard
11:42 in the structure.
11:43 I would definitely give this one an eight.
11:45 There's a lot of stuff that was going on in this video
11:48 that we actually do in real life.
11:52 [singing in foreign language]
11:58 It's not the actual fuel that's on fire,
12:01 it's the vapors that are on fire.
12:03 So it can definitely spread fast enough.
12:06 A fire extinguisher is not sufficient enough
12:09 to put out a vehicle fire.
12:10 I'm just surprised that the officer that was trying to run
12:13 and help didn't try to use the extinguisher
12:17 to prevent the flame from reaching the second car.
12:20 [singing in foreign language]
12:25 It wouldn't take very long at all
12:28 for a small gas leak to turn into a major fire.
12:31 I could tell you one that I had a while back
12:34 where it started off as a small leak
12:37 and we were trying to contain the fire
12:40 and then all of a sudden the vehicle
12:43 just started abruptly just losing fuel
12:47 and we ended up having to turn it into a foam operation
12:50 because it ended up covering four lanes on a highway.
12:55 We actually utilize the engine pumper
12:58 and we pour a chemical in there called AFFF
13:01 and it turns your standard water into a mixture
13:06 that foams up and bubbles and eventually smothers the fire.
13:12 [singing in foreign language]
13:21 In a perfect world, normally we would not suggest
13:25 pulling anyone out of a structure like that.
13:27 Depending on the severity of their injuries,
13:30 we would normally try to cut the door open
13:32 and take them out in a manner where
13:35 we would stabilize their spine, their neck,
13:38 and then bring them out of the vehicle.
13:40 But with this one, we can obviously see
13:42 that there's a bit of a time constraint.
13:44 I would rate it a nine
13:46 just because I like to see other people help.
13:49 - No, CC, no, come on!
13:51 [dramatic music]
13:54 - So at that point, you definitely wanna
13:59 maintain the low crawl because again,
14:03 the minute you stand up, you're being exposed
14:06 to that really hot gas.
14:08 Even with me in bunker gear, I notice a building's hot
14:12 when my shoulders start to burn.
14:14 The only thing I would add to it is
14:16 trying to cover at least the lower portion of my mouth.
14:21 One of the things that I was always taught,
14:22 especially in the academy, is bad air is better than no air.
14:27 So even if you're breathing in smoke,
14:30 you wanna get low, and that's exactly what they did.
14:33 - Cover her face!
14:34 Put that bunker on her face!
14:35 - I got it, I got it!
14:36 [coughing]
14:39 - Well, they did exactly what I would've done.
14:43 I would've tried to cover the baby up
14:46 as much as possible to try not to get
14:49 the baby exposed to heat as well as the smoke.
14:52 They have a higher chance for dying
14:54 from a smoke inhalation fire,
14:56 so we would definitely smother them a little bit,
15:00 just enough to get 'em out of that structure
15:02 and then bring 'em to fresh air.
15:03 [coughing]
15:10 Well, at that point, they're probably gonna need
15:14 medical attention, we wouldn't want them running off.
15:17 When you have that much smoke inhalation,
15:19 we can only imagine the level of CO2
15:21 that is in your bloodstream.
15:23 I would definitely give this a 10 out of 10 for realism,
15:27 just because they did exactly what a civilian
15:30 or first responder would do in a situation like that
15:33 where they come into a house fire.
15:34 This is actually as real as it gets.
15:37 [upbeat music]
15:41 [fire extinguisher hissing]
15:44 We actually still do have it at my firehouse,
15:48 and even within the city,
15:50 they're still in about every single firehouse.
15:52 And I'll tell you this,
15:53 nine years in, I still use the fire pole today.
15:56 It is a lot faster than going down to the steps.
15:59 - Go, go, go, go!
16:03 - The one thing I didn't agree with
16:05 was the fact that he actually stepped on the hose line.
16:08 We take the hose line and we wrap it around the hydrant,
16:12 and then we lock it onto itself,
16:14 'cause we don't need the potential of someone getting hurt
16:17 because they're holding it with their foot.
16:19 That's an accident waiting to happen.
16:21 But we do a similar technique of having the fire engine
16:26 move up to the fire building
16:28 because we came up to the first hydrant
16:31 that we had available.
16:32 [upbeat music]
16:37 They definitely had a good technique
16:38 of how they hooked up to the hydrant and the engine.
16:41 Most of the time when we do it,
16:45 our control guy works hand-in-hand with the chauffeur.
16:48 We check the hydrant,
16:49 and then once we know we have a sufficient hydrant
16:51 and water pressure, we will then do the hookup,
16:55 and then we'll talk to the chauffeur
16:57 and start working on how many lengths we need
17:00 for the structure that we're going into.
17:06 I've actually dealt with my fair share of rats,
17:08 especially in the city.
17:10 Believe it or not, when you see animals like that
17:13 running from a structure, especially that's smoke-filled,
17:17 tells you you're in the right place
17:18 because if they're running away from it,
17:20 you're pretty close.
17:21 So when he gets up to that area
17:29 where he has to start putting out the fire,
17:32 normally we don't ever go past the fire.
17:36 We always wanna maintain a certain distance from it
17:39 because we don't want it to roll over us.
17:41 So normally what we'll do is
17:43 we will start to hit the ceiling first,
17:46 cool off the superheated gas,
17:49 and then we'll start to sweep the floor
17:51 because all the excess water that's coming down,
17:54 those steam droplets,
17:55 they have the potential to burn our knees
17:57 as we're trying to advance on the fire.
17:59 You know what, I know my first day on the job,
18:01 I made a lot of mistakes,
18:02 but as a probationary firefighter,
18:05 you know, that's the only time you make mistakes.
18:08 So with that, I would definitely give this one a seven
18:11 because as a probationary firefighter,
18:13 that's as real as it gets.
18:14 You're looking at everybody else,
18:16 you're listening, you're asking questions,
18:18 they're telling you what to do,
18:20 and your job is to learn.
18:29 That circuit breaker popped and it created a fire.
18:33 Electrical fires are more prevalent today than anything,
18:36 especially since a lot of the stuff that we do now
18:39 is mostly electrical.
18:41 I've been to a lot of electrical fires
18:44 that start even as simple as an outlet sparking.
18:47 The fact that the chemicals are just out and about,
18:50 all completely exposed,
18:52 I mean, I know this is an old movie,
18:54 but everything should be completely locked up.
18:57 I know we have regulations now that say
18:59 that all chemicals have to be stored
19:01 inside of like a yellow locker.
19:04 This way we know exactly where to go to
19:06 to make sure that we cool those areas down first.
19:09 But that part right there is completely ridiculous.
19:13 When you set off an explosion on a water tank,
19:23 I wouldn't think that's the best suggestion.
19:25 When you have a water tank on top of a structure,
19:28 it's usually piped through the building
19:31 so that this way it'll set off an actual sprinkler system.
19:33 Here within our cities,
19:36 we actually have two types of systems.
19:38 We have a wet system or a dry system.
19:40 The water tanks, they'll usually put out the fire
19:43 with a sprinkler system,
19:44 or we'll have our engine companies hooked up
19:46 to the outside sprinkler system
19:49 and we'll wet it ourselves.
19:52 This one's tough because the first half of it,
19:55 was actually pretty realistic.
19:57 So I would definitely give the first half a higher rating,
20:00 the second half not so much,
20:02 but I guess overall I would give it a six.
20:05 My favorite clip that I watched today was "End of Watch."
20:09 It had a lot of events that happened in that clip
20:13 where it's very realistic.
20:15 It's things that I would have done, I have done it.
20:18 (upbeat music)
20:20 (upbeat music)
20:23 (upbeat music)
20:26 (upbeat music)
20:28 (upbeat music)
20:31 (upbeat music)