Watch CBS News

"Burn" Shows A Year In The Lives Of Detroit's Firefighters

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) A new kind of reality video is coming to theaters near you -- and it doesn't involve any hair-pulling or name-calling.

The meltdowns are for real.

"Burn," a movie that features a year in the lives of a team of Detroit firefighters, premieres Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28 and 29, at The Fillmore Detroit. Tickets are $25, and still available HERE.

The movie, produced by actor Denis Leary, shows what truly goes on behind the red doors of the Detroit Fire Department.

"I wish my head could forget what my eyes have seen," one firefighter says in the movie trailer.

Filmmakers Brenna Sanchez and Tom Putnam garnered an exclusive agreement with the Detroit Fire Department that allowed them to embed with firefighters for an entire year, filming no-holds-barred.

"Firefighters don't talk, they're not on the couch with Oprah," Sanchez said. This is the first time viewers will see inside the day-to-day lives of some of the hardest-working first responders in the world.

Detroit has an average of 30 fires a day, and viewers will see some explosive situations up close and personal.

"You'll see the flames as it unfolds," Putnam said, adding, "It's an action movie, it's shot in widescreen, it's got great music, we're up in helicopters, we're going into fires with these guys."

The entire movie's been funded by charitable donations,  which Putnam said makes it "possibly the largest film ever to be made this way."

But it didn't happen easily: It took filmmakers four years to shoot 1,000 hours of video -- which filled 140 hard drives -- until they got exactly what they wanted.

"No one's ever made a firefighting documentary before," Putnam said. "Detroit's probably the one place you can do it because they're so busy that you can actually go to fires with the guys, no one's ever sent cameras into fires before, no one's spent this much time in a firehouse before, so I think the movie has a lot of firsts."

The goal is to "explore human struggles, hope and personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds," filmmakers said in a press release.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.