Pa. Firefighters to be Featured on New Reality TV Show
June 01—Reading firefighters are going Hollywood.
The firefighters will be featured in a new show called "American Fire," airing on July 3 on several network and online channels.
The show is a half-hour reality series with 13 episodes that chronicle a crew of firefighters and mechanics in East Earl Township, Lancaster County. The crew works out of a shop called Fire Line Equipment that buys, fixes and refurbishes firetrucks and apparatus.
"The show is a mixture of genres," creator and executive producer Michael Shortt said. "We don't have fake drama. We have fires and car wrecks."
Four of the episodes will be special "firefighter exchanges," Shortt said, featuring one of the show regulars working a 24-hour shift at different firehouses in Reading, Lancaster, Lebanon and Harrisburg.
"We'll see how everybody does the job differently," Shortt said. "Our volunteers from the country work in the city for 24 hours."
Shannon Eberly, chief of Weaverland Valley Fire Department, has spent 20 years working for a rural fire company and said working in the city was awesome and fun.
"They were kind enough to let us ride along here," Eberly said. "What I'm used to is a very rural fire department. It's cool to come to a career department and see their house, get to know them a bit and run out in the city."
He said the highlights included putting out a kitchen fire, having dinner with the firefighters in the kitchen of the Franklin and Plum streets station and testing out the fire pole, which is not a feature in his local fire house.
Shortt said the firefighters responded to 11 incidents in the first 12 hours of filming.
"It's been the busiest spot," he said. "Your firefighters work hard and your people should appreciate them. I don't think they've finished a meal yet.
"We appreciate the opportunity to see how the Reading Fire Department takes care of business."
Despite the busy day, Reading Fire Lt. David Williams said the six-person film crew has worked with firefighters before.
"These guys, they're pretty good at not getting in the way of us doing our job," Williams said. "It's nice someone is trying to get an accurate portrayal of what we do instead of the Hollywood version."
The episode featuring Reading will air in the seventh or eighth week and again in December, Shortt said.
The show will be shown on Fridays at 9 p.m. and again on Sundays at 6 p.m. More information, including where to watch the show, can be found on the show's Facebook page American Fire or the website www.americanfiretv.com.
Copyright 2015 - Reading Eagle, Pa.
