In March of 2010 we posted a video of wildland firefighters that were dancing at an air attack base. Sadly, it was removed from YouTube a few weeks later due to a “copyright” claim by a person that said he worked for the “BLM/Forest Service”. (UPDATE: it has reappeared. Scroll down to see it.)
But here are two more videos of dancing firefighters. The first one shows helitack firefighters and has received almost 120,000 views on YouTube since it was first uploaded in 2006. We’ll post a screen grab of it here just in case the “BLM/Forest Service” also claims this one is copyrighted.
And here is that video:
So we know that wildland firefighters can dance — what about structural firefighters? Here is the description of the next video:
This video is dedicated to the men and women of Chattanooga Fire Academy 2011, who graduated Feb. 24th, 2011. While receiving their training in the academy, they put in some extra time and effort to pay a little tribute to a classic [Thriller] video created by Michael Jackson. No doubt it’s hard to dance dressed up like a zombie, but try doing it dressed in full firefighter turnout gear!
And in case it’s been a while since you’ve seen the original Michael Jackson Thriller video, HERE is a link to a short version of it.
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I like the shot of the Air-Crane dipping in the background, surrounded by mist. You can judge for yourself which version of Poker Face you like better. This one, or Lady Gaga’s. Thankfully, the firefighters were not dressed like the people in Lady Gaga’s video. It’s hard to find a Nomex bathing suit.
Love the dumb one that doesnt like to have a little fun on the job. a couple minutes of actual raw footage was created for this video, that was mainly done on breaks. except for one or two shots that was done inside the helicopter because they were flying to a fire. Wow Jeff. I would hate to have you as a sup. I wouldnt mind having lads like this that like to have fun and build a little crew cohesion. Embarrassed!!? Ha, I would be embarrassed working for you. Dig up the facts before “assuming” anything…. Too Jeff once again (just to make you upset) and to the people that actually like the video. Here are some more sites you will find firefighter pokerface
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4031113/firefighter_poker_face_music_video/
http://toshcommunity.comedycentral.com/Video/Firefighter-Poker-Face-Music-Video/050BFFFFF0228D3D9001B0138AE7D
Bill thanks for posting the poker face video again. i have been looking for that one for a long time.
You’re welcome. I have been looking for it also. Thanks go out to Casey for digging it up.
Hats’ off to you Jeff. I wish all supervisors would. From my experience in three different federal fire installations and two different agencies, the supervisors treated the front line supervisors (engine bosses, etc) like children and then brought the hammer down when they screwed up. They were consistently hands off and only in their own minds were they providing the leadership they should be. And obviously, my opinion is colored by my experiences.
By the way, I’ve only worked at one district with helitack and those guys knew their stuff. In spite of perception, I would have put them up against anyone.
Casey,
I would go to bat for our guys for lapses in judgment. They key is to set the tone from the beginning. Don’t do stupid stuff that makes you, the crew, and the organization look foolish. Helitack as a whole has enough of an uphill battle to establish a good operational reputation, and this plays right into the existing perceptions of laziness.
I know this has been hashed over in a number of places, but I think it’s crazy that the helitack guys got into trouble over doing just what supervisors preach all the time – team building. I counted less than 30 seconds of video that could safely be assumed to have been shot on a working incident. The rest, as far as anyone knows, may have been done on their own time. So for 30 seconds, they got into hot water? I went on a fire near Imnaha, OR where we sat as “lookouts” for THREE DAYS with a helitack crew next to us. Most of the time, they were sleeping and in full view of a variety of overhead. ‘Course that wasn’t put up on You-tube, so evidently, that’s ok.
My opinion – what’s missing from fire these days are supervisors willing to go to bat for the folks they are supposed to be leading.
@jeff – I have to agree.
I think we all understand that there are certainly slow times especially with helitack crews, and while fun is important to keep morale up and make the slow days pass, it is my opinion that it’s inappropriate to post these sorts of things to the web.
We have a hard enough time keeping good relations with the public let alone have them see their tax dollars pay federal firefighters create the above videos.
The crew that produced the ‘Pokerface Video’ got into some trouble for it.
THANKS for digging these up, or back up. The “Poker Face” video is sooo perfect. I’ve often wondered about the crane pilots’ reactions when they saw the dancing …
You’re welcome. 🙂
Got to luv youth. That’s what makes the fire service a great profession.
As a helicopter crew supt I would be embarrassed if these were my folks.
Ever notice it’s almost always helitack doing these videos? Surely just a coincidence . . . 😉
By the way, the helitack Poker Face found its way back to the web here:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?c=1&i=d24_1264115612
Thanks for the link, Casey. I looked and could not find it.
These are great. Thanks for posting these. One question though how can Forest Service/BLM claim a copyright on the wildland video?
Because BLM has the power of the Almighty! lol.