When it comes to authenticity, the mega-hit ABC television drama “9-1-1” earns high praise from its audience as well as the real Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters or “realies” who stand shoulder to shoulder on set with the actors on the show.
We went behind the scenes of the global phenomenon to capture all the action of Season 8, including a one-on-one chat with Star Ryan Guzman about that “love it or hate it” mustache. Take a look.
“There’s no slighting the attention to detail,” says Michael “Mike” Bowman, “9-1-1” Technical Advisor, LAFD Battalion Chief, Retired. “It’s very important that we do things right and replicate what we do here in the city of Los Angeles and L.A. County EMS System.” Firefighter Paramedic Steven Smith has been with the department for 19 years. “For us to be able to try and keep it as real as we can get it, making sure we’re represented properly. When we’re out there in the field, people want to compare us to TV. If you’re going to compare us to TV, at least let’s have something comparable to what we actually do.”
It’s more than representing the department in a positive light. Brian Thompson plays Captain Gerrard on the show. “People learn by observing, and if we’re doing something that is potentially unsafe, that would be a disservice. So, Bowman, in a certain light, is an extension of the fire department and fire training that takes place when the audience gets to watch our show.” Mel Oliver, who serves as the show’s medical technical advisor agrees. “We want the audience to know what to expect if something were to happen to them.”
For actors like Ryan, having the realies on set is invaluable. “We can ask them, ‘What would you do in this scenario? How would you treat them or talk to a certain patient?’ And as far as getting them to the hospital, what’s in between that? How do we make that visible for the audience?” Castmate Peter Krause says working with the firefighters brings “a certain level of stability, and obviously knowledge about what to do in certain situations.”
And not just emergency situations. Suzy Diaz, the Department Head, Makeup, also frequently consults the pros. “Bowman helps when it comes to things like following regulations as far as facial hair. We want to be as correct as we can for L.A., other parts of the country can get away with tattoos, we can’t.”
How many “realies” are on set depends on the action of the day. Retired LAFD Captain II Rick Godinez says in a fire scene, for example, four-to-six firefighters could be on hand working alongside the cast members.
”We use real people whenever we do anything technical or highly technical – ladders, hose lines, any type of apparatus equipment, we have real firefighters, real paramedics. It takes more than one person to do a lot of skills we do in the fire service, so they’re doing it alongside professionals, and it makes the show at the level that it is,” says Michael, adding, “if they weren’t actors on 9-1-1, we’d recruit them on LAFD.”
Brian actually spent two days training at the Los Angeles fire academy. “I love firemen, but getting to work with them at the fire academy and do a small segment of training…those days were more substantive and rich, my memory of those days is vibrant.”
Ryan spent a day at Station 61 and says he feels fortunate for the experience. “What I loved about it is, it’s a family…showing up for each other in the worst situations. We emulate the same thing they do every single day and people like [the show] so much for that camaraderie, that family dynamic. The scenes in between the emergencies. That’s where you get to feel the characters out, understand they’re there for each other, they’re more than just coworkers.”
And according to Mike, that’s on purpose: “it’s indicative of what really happens on LAFD and fire stations across the nation – cooking a meal together and the camaraderie they share.” Rick agrees. ”This is our home environment, there are chores to be done, somebody’s mopping the floor, sweeping the floor, somebody’s in the kitchen cooking. This is our home for 24 hours, and it’s no different on set, bringing all that reality of a firehouse to the show.”
It’s a life the realies know well. “They’ll put feelers out and say, ‘hey, we need firefighters for these days, is anybody available?’” says Steven.
“Most of the guys are retired LAFD. We know this is a show about LAFD firefighters so we bring professionalism and realism to our piece. Sometimes directors or writers will write a certain way, and we’ll say here’s how we’d really do it and they might change on fly and go with that it’s more realistic,” says Rick.
Retired LAFD Firefighter III Julio Maldonado served for 35 years “It works out great. When you get to do stuff we did as firefighters and we get to still have the camaraderie of the group. A lot of the firefighters here, we’ve known each other for over 30 years, we go back a long way.” Retired Firefighter Paramedic John Hicks admits after doing the job for so long, it’s hard to step away from it. “I love my days off, but I love being here. It gives us a sense of camaraderie both with the real firefighters we work with and we’ve become friends with the stars.”
That authenticity showing up on screen, which the firefighters say lends to its popularity, and something to be proud of, “It does give you a sense of pride, a sense of ‘that’s how we really do it’,” Retired LAFD Captain I Lorenzo Brazley.
By Mary Anne Bargen