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.
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00:00You don't want to do it because it looks unprofessional, but believe it or not, that actually does
00:10work sometimes.
00:12My name is Anthony Martinez.
00:14I am a current active firefighter in New York.
00:18I have been an active firefighter for nine years now.
00:21Today we are going to be looking at firefighting scenes in movies and TV shows and judge how
00:26real they are.
00:37The fires that I have been to, you're not going to see anything.
00:41I can tell you half the time that I go to a fire, I actually close my eyes because that's
00:46how much smoke is in the room.
00:48So by touching items, you kind of get a better idea and using your imagination on how the
00:54layout is.
01:01It does have the potential to create sparks.
01:05When it comes to most of the buildings that I've come across, when we've had a fire, an
01:11active fire, one of the things that we do as a firefighting team, our chauffeur usually
01:16will go in and his job is to disengage the utilities.
01:22And by doing so, at this point in that time of the fire, there shouldn't be any electricity
01:28that's on in the building.
01:36So I have witnessed one explosion.
01:38The reason that explosion happened was due to an issue with a gas line.
01:43All it takes is enough gas to fill up the area and at that point, you can definitely
01:49have a massive explosion.
01:50I would say I have to give it a four.
01:57I absolutely 100% agree with what they did as far as putting a cover over their mouth.
02:05The only thing I would have added to that is trying to maintain a low profile.
02:09The higher you are, the more perceptible you are to smoke inhalation.
02:21We would never do that.
02:22We actually do utilize moving from one building to another as far as if it's a low rise multiple
02:29dwelling or another building that's adjacent to it, but never on a high rise.
02:35Not the way he's going to do it.
02:36You're going to fall through the fire.
02:37The magnets are going to kick back on once you pass the fire line.
02:45If you cut off all the safety features on an elevator, they can definitely ride through
02:50a fire like that, but there are so many safeguards for elevators.
02:55When an actual cable does break and it's on its descent or even when it's going up, those
03:01breaks will automatically lock.
03:03As a civilian, you never should use an elevator during a fire.
03:07You want to use the stairs and actually descend away from the fire.
03:13When an active fire does happen, the outside vent firefighter will take over the elevators
03:18and recall them down to the lobby floor.
03:21I would give this scene a four.
03:31They still go in the building and we're already doing a surround and drown.
03:37At that point, it's an outside operation.
03:39We would never go in.
03:40We would get tower ladders and we would surround the building and dump as much water on it
03:48as possible.
03:54I've been able to force some very hard doors and wooden ones.
03:58There are some that just, they are a real pain.
04:02They are warped or they crack and they just will not open up as easy.
04:07When you see him actually kick it, believe it or not, that actually does work sometimes.
04:12You don't want to do it because it looks unprofessional, but sometimes we'll turn around and just give
04:16it a mule kick and it opens up.
04:25You'd be surprised how easy it is to get through most of those structures.
04:30Sometimes it's just sheet rock, so you can actually punch your way through if you wanted
04:33to.
04:34One thing I do give credit to this movie about is anytime that we go in, there's always two
04:39members going in, two members coming out.
04:42Even if there is more firefighters, we always pair up.
04:52One of the tools that he's using is a six foot pike hook.
04:56We are looking for any embers that would look hot enough where it could spark a rekindle
05:03because all it takes is enough air to pass through over an ember and that whole structure
05:09could light up again.
05:16They did a surrounding drown, so normally we would not enter this premise.
05:21If you are going to enter this premise, we always bring a hook with us and we always
05:26check the floor.
05:28We would kick in front of us, we would probe with our hook, make sure that the floor is
05:33substantial to support our weight.
05:35Unfortunately, as much as I love this movie, I would have to give it a five.
05:40The only thing that deters me from giving it a better score would be going in after
05:45they're doing a surrounding drown already.
05:58I was actually very furious with this clip because we drill on roof rope rescues a lot
06:06with my department.
06:07So when I saw him put the ax in and use the rope around a vent pipe, that's a big no-no
06:15because that is not substantial enough to hold the weight.
06:18We look for anything that would be substantial, a bulkhead maybe, or even if we had to, worst
06:25case scenario, we would even cut a part of the roof and actually tie off to the actual
06:31structure of the roof to rappel down.
06:34They had a portable saw right there that they could have used to actually cut a decent enough
06:40hole to actually tie off on a proper structure.
06:49The chances of the window actually exploding like that, it's very difficult to say because
06:54a lot of these windows are tempered glass and it's not as easy to break as you would
07:00think.
07:01When the window actually does explode and you see the glass shatter, you see everybody
07:06actually look down.
07:08That's actually correct.
07:09The minute you hear any glass shatter, you always want to go and look down.
07:14Last thing you want is glass in your eyes.
07:16This cable is stuck in my DCT.
07:18I can't move.
07:19Okay, I want you to cut the black cable.
07:21Pull your weight onto the rope.
07:24Pop that cable free.
07:25He did give correct advice as far as cutting the cable and trying to loosen it from the
07:30mechanism.
07:31However, you can actually see two instances where she almost lifts herself up.
07:38Those are the no-nos because the minute you go and take your weight off that rope, it
07:44has the potential to loosen up the hook or wherever it's tied off to and you have a potential
07:50for a fall.
07:52As far as the realism goes, they could have done a little better, but I would still give
07:55it a seven because the techniques are still there.
07:57Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
07:58Make sure you check it first.
08:00Oh, yeah.
08:02There's a certain technique that we use for actually forcing entry.
08:11One of those techniques is first you check the door for heat.
08:15That is the first sign.
08:16If it's hot, you know you're going to have something behind that door.
08:20The next thing is you never just break the door open.
08:24We always go in and check the doorknob and see if it opens up.
08:28You'd be surprised how many people actually leave their doors unlocked, and it makes forcing
08:31the door simple just by opening the door like a gentleman.
08:41We have a tool called a halogen.
08:43We would never use an axe.
08:45That one tool has so many techniques that you can use to get through many types of doors.
08:50It has three pieces.
08:52It's your pike end, your adze end, and your fork end.
08:58The way a backdraft actually occurs during the decay stage, the fire is actually swallowing
09:08up all the oxygen in the room.
09:10So when you see the smoke actually being sucked back under the door, that's because whatever
09:15combustible is still burning, but it's about to die.
09:19And the reason why you get that backdraft effect is because when he opens the door,
09:24he reintroduces oxygen into that smoke-filled room.
09:28We actually have techniques to try to minimize those types of situations.
09:32We'll do something called a vertical ventilation, where we try to have either the roof firefighter
09:37or whoever is above try to vent out all the smoke from on top.
09:42This way, we can try to minimize that explosion from happening.
09:52That's actually very effective.
09:53It's no different than having a blanket and putting it on a person.
09:57What you're essentially doing is trying to smother the fire and take out the oxygen from
10:01the fire, and two, for actually cooling off the individual as well as the gear.
10:07Because when your gear's on fire, more than likely, you're definitely in excess of over
10:12400 or 500 degrees.
10:14Our bunkie key is rated for a certain temperature, however, it's not a save-all.
10:19We do use it to go into hotter areas, but we're only told to limit how much we're allowed
10:26to go into a fire with our gear.
10:30I would give this one a seven.
10:31This is a classic movie scene.
10:34I actually enjoyed watching this movie.
10:36It was one of the reasons why I became a firefighter to begin with.
10:38Nobody in the door.
10:4249, here comes your water.
10:44Hit it, hit it, go, hit it, hit it.
10:46I was actually glad that they showed the pump panel, because the chauffeur's job is one
10:50of the most important jobs on the engine pump panel.
10:56Without him and giving us water, nobody's putting out any fires, so that's actually
11:01really important.
11:03You have your engine company, their job is to put water on the fire.
11:06The truck's job is search for life, search for fire.
11:10We have multiple teams just on the truck alone.
11:13It's cool to see Steve Buscemi actually partaking in this clip.
11:18He used to be a firefighter, and he actually volunteered his services during the September
11:2411th clean-up.
11:27Fire!
11:32I've been pretty close to a couple incidents where fire's blowing out the window.
11:38Regardless, we still have to go in, especially if there's a potential sign of life hazard
11:42in the structure.
11:43I would definitely give this one an eight.
11:45There's a lot of stuff that was going on in this video that we actually do in real life.
11:53I've known it once, but with time...
11:58It's not the actual fuel that's on fire, it's the vapors that are on fire, so it can definitely
12:04spread fast enough.
12:06A fire extinguisher is not sufficient enough to put out a vehicle fire.
12:10I'm just surprised that the officer that was trying to run and help didn't try to use the
12:15extinguisher to prevent the flame from reaching the second car.
12:20We wish you well.
12:25It wouldn't take very long at all for a small gas leak to turn into a major fire.
12:31I could tell you one that I had a while back, where it started off as a small leak, and
12:38we were trying to contain the fire, and then all of a sudden, the vehicle just started
12:44abruptly just losing fuel, and we ended up having to turn it into a foam operation because
12:51it ended up covering four lanes on a highway.
12:55We actually utilized the engine pumper, and we pour a chemical in there called AFFF, and
13:02it turns your standard water into a mixture that foams up and bubbles and eventually smothers
13:11the fire.
13:12¡Venid y saquedad por meu mundo hermoso!
13:22In a perfect world, normally we would not suggest pulling anyone out of a structure
13:27like that.
13:28Depending on the severity of their injuries, we would normally try to cut the door open
13:32and take them out in a manner where we would stabilize their spine, their neck, and then
13:38bring them out of the vehicle.
13:40But with this one, we can obviously see that there's a bit of a time constraint.
13:44I would rate it a nine, just because I like to see other people help.
13:49¡No, CC! ¡No! ¡C'mon!
13:57So at that point, you definitely want to maintain the low crawl, because again, the minute you
14:04stand up, you're being exposed to that really hot gas.
14:09Even with me in bunker gear, I notice a building's hot when my shoulders start to burn.
14:14The only thing I would add to it is trying to cover at least the lower portion of my
14:20mouth.
14:21One of the things that I was always taught, especially in the academy, is bad air is better
14:25than no air.
14:27So even if you're breathing in smoke, you want to get low, and that's exactly what they did.
14:33¡Cover her face! ¡Put that blanket around her face!
14:35¡I got it! ¡I got it!
14:40Well, they did exactly what I would have done.
14:43I would have tried to cover the baby up as much as possible to try not to get the baby
14:50exposed to heat, as well as the smoke.
14:52They have a higher chance for dying from a smoke inhalation fire, so we would definitely
14:57smother them a little bit, just enough to get them out of that structure, and then bring
15:02them to fresh air.
15:10¡Help me!
15:12Well, at that point, they're probably going to need medical attention.
15:15We wouldn't want them running off.
15:17When you have that much smoke inhalation, we can only imagine the level of CO2 that
15:22is in your bloodstream.
15:23I would definitely give this a 10 out of 10 for realism, just because they did exactly
15:28what a civilian or first responder would do in a situation like that where they come into
15:34a house fire.
15:35This is actually as real as it gets.
15:39¡Come on, come on!
15:46We actually still do have it at my firehouse, and even within the city, they're still in
15:50about every single firehouse.
15:52And I'll tell you this, nine years in, I still use the fire pole today.
15:56It is a lot faster than going down to the steps.
16:02¡Go, go, go, go!
16:04The one thing I didn't agree with was the fact that he actually stepped on the hose
16:07line.
16:08We take the hose line, and we wrap it around the hydrant, and then we lock it onto itself.
16:14Because we don't need the potential of someone getting hurt because they're holding it with
16:18their foot.
16:19That's an accident waiting to happen.
16:21But we do a similar technique of having the fire engine move up to the fire building because
16:29we came up to the first hydrant that we had available.
16:32They definitely had a good technique of how they hooked up to the hydrant and the engine.
16:37Most of the time when we do it, our control guy works hand-in-hand with the chauffeur.
16:44We check the hydrant, and then once we know we have a sufficient hydrant and water pressure,
16:48we will then do the hookup, and then we'll talk to the chauffeur and start working on
16:54how many lengths we need for the structure that we're going into.
16:58I've actually dealt with my fair share of rats, especially in the city.
17:02Believe it or not, when you see animals like that running from a structure, especially
17:07that's smoke-filled, it tells you you're in the right place.
17:10Because if they're running away from it, you're pretty close.
17:13So when he gets up to that area where he has to start putting out the fire, normally
17:17we don't ever go past the fire.
17:21We always want to maintain a certain distance from it because we don't want it to roll
17:25over us.
17:26So normally what we'll do is we'll go up to the first hydrant that we have available,
17:31and then we'll go up to the second hydrant that we have available, and then we'll
17:35go up to the third hydrant that we have available, and then we'll go up to the fourth hydrant
17:41So normally what we'll do is we will start to hit the ceiling first, cool off the superheated
17:47gas, and then we'll start to sweep the floor because all the excess water that's
17:52coming down, those steam droplets, they have the potential to burn our knees as we're
17:56trying to advance on the fire.
17:58You know, I know my first day on the job, I made a lot of mistakes, but as a probationary
18:03firefighter, you know, that's the only time you make mistakes.
18:07So with that, I would definitely give this one a seven because as a probationary firefighter,
18:12that's as real as it gets.
18:14You're looking at everybody else, you're listening, you're asking questions, they're
18:18telling you what to do, and your job is to learn.
18:29That circuit breaker popped and it created a fire.
18:33Electrical fires are more prevalent today than anything, especially since a lot of the
18:37stuff that we do now is mostly electrical.
18:40I've been to a lot of electrical fires that start even as simple as an outlet sparking.
18:47The fact that the chemicals are just out and about, all completely exposed, I mean, I know
18:53this is an old movie, but everything should be completely locked up.
18:57I know we have regulations now that say that all chemicals have to be stored inside of
19:01like a yellow locker.
19:03This way we know exactly where to go to to make sure that we cool those areas down first.
19:09But that part right there is completely ridiculous.
19:21When you set off an explosion on a water tank, I wouldn't think that's the best suggestion.
19:25When you have a water tank on top of a structure, it's usually piped through the building so
19:30that this way it'll set off an actual sprinkler system.
19:33Here within our cities, we actually have two types of systems.
19:38We have a wet system or a dry system.
19:40The water tanks, they'll usually put out the fire with a sprinkler system, or we'll have
19:44our engine companies hook up to the outside sprinkler system and we'll wet it ourselves.
19:51This one's tough because the first half of it was actually pretty realistic.
19:57So I would definitely give the first half a higher rating.
20:00The second half, not so much.
20:02But I guess overall, I would give it a six.
20:05My favorite clip that I watched today was End of Watch.
20:08It had a lot of events that happened in that clip where it's very realistic.
20:15It's things that I would have done, I have done it.
20:26End of Watch