Dec 1, 2000 12:00 PM (“Fire Chief”)

“Fire Chief”: Who trains the actors to perform the firefighting skills correctly?

Bernero:

We send them to a chopped-down version of fire school - Eddie Cibrian, the main fireman, and a new character this year, a female firefighter played by an actress named Amy Carlson. Plus all of our extras are firemen, so if the actors don’t get something right, the firemen give them a whole bunch of shit anyway. They laugh and say, “Oh, Mr. Hollywood.”

“Fire Chief” What about the show would really amaze the viewers or the emergency personnel if they knew?

Bernero: Well, one thing that has amazed me is that all of our actors have done all of their own stunts. They are raring to go! We did a scene last year where we climbed off a 10-story building down to a window eight floors below. Eddie Cibrian, who did it, and Michael Beach and Anthony Ruivivar all went to the fire school. They rapelled down the side of the building - we can’t keep them from doing it. We have a great cast. None of them are pretty-boy Hollywood types, even though they are pretty. They still want to get in and do it.

“Fire Chief” : How did you get involved with “Third Watch”?

Dixon:

When the producers first came to New York, they had to come through the deputy fire commissioner. They spoke to him, told him what they wanted to do and what access they would need, what story they wanted to tell for the fdny, nypd and ems operations.

In the beginning, I was asked to oversee it, and then they asked if I would come on board as the technical advisor. The strange thing I had to do is separate myself from [headquarters], since NBC deals with this office for equipment. I had to get away from that conflict of interest.

“Fire Chief”: I understand that “Third Watch” is filmed in a working station.

Dixon:

Yeah, they have a studio, and the writers spend some time there. They visit fire stations and talk to people in firehouses; they witness and observe. They look around and try to capture all the little things we have in the firehouse, like the blackboard with all the requests. There are people who are very particular about capturing all the little details.

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.

• Creator Ed Bernero Ed Bernero, creator and supervising producer for “Third Watch,” was a police officer for 10 years on the northwest side of Chicago.

• 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.

Read the full interview here:

http://firechief.com/mag/firefighting_behind_scenes_third/