Five bells, stand by all stations.
Attention, all districts, a five alarm fire, five bells, move in immediately.
That's it, let's go!
Let's go!
Fire fighters!
Presenting Fire Fighters, the true to life story of our unsung heroes.
We stand ready to ride by day or night against our most murderous enemy, the Demon of Fire.
In just a moment, we'll join Chief Cody and rookie fireman Tim Collins aboard the fire launch,
speeding closer and closer toward danger in the middle of the harbor.
Off their port bow, the tugboat is struggling bravely against wind and tide,
its steel cable taut against the weight of the clumsy barge which it tows.
To their stern, the fireboat moves more slowly in the wake of the launch,
ready to take up the task if the crew aboard the smaller boat should fail.
All eyes are on the small cloud of smoke lifting from the barge,
and they're worried eyes, for these firefighters know the cargo it contains.
Now in just a minute, we'll move right up there to the scene of action.
Let's go, firefighters! Let's get aboard that fast moving fire launch with Chief Cody and private Tim Collins
as they speed toward the tugboat and the heavy laden barge which it is towing.
You'll recall how a routine visit to the fireboat planned as a surprise for Tim's young brother Jimmy,
had turned into an honest-a-gosh surprise for all concerned,
when a sudden alarm sent all hands to the stations.
The small fire on the barge might be merely routine except for one thing,
it's carrying 35,000 gallons of oil.
Now as Tim looks back, you can see his young brother standing beside Captain Jarvis
on the bridge of the fireboat in the distance,
and he's glad the boy is not with him and Chief Cody on the launch,
and he suddenly hears the chief say,
Did you see that, Tim? Aboard the barge?
Looks pretty much the same to me, Chief Cody.
The color of the smoke changed suddenly, getting heavier, blacker, I'd say.
You're right, sir.
Say, do you think the fire spread that maybe it's finally reaching the cargo of oil?
I just hope we find out before it's too late, son.
We've got to get there and get to work on that before it really catches on.
Yeah, but that isn't exactly what bothers me, Tim.
Oh, then you're worried about the possibility Captain Jarvis had in the back of his mind,
that the whole barge might go up any minute, that we'll be too late.
No, no. Did you ever see an oil tank go up in flames, son?
Filling black clouds of smoke and underneath a solid mass of flame
that gobbles up anything that touches.
You mean that barge ahead of us will be like that?
Well, of course. And that's what bothers me.
Not that we'll be too early or too late,
but that we'll climb on board that barge at the exact time it decides to shoot towards.
Oh, good grief. I never thought of that.
I suppose we should be thankful it isn't gasoline.
I can't see much choice myself, sir, between terrific explosion and going up in a puff of smoke.
Oh, me either, son.
You know, this is one of these times I think we earn our pay.
Yes, sir.
Now, Captain Jarvis thought of every possibility, but...
Well, he thought of this one, too.
Only he couldn't bring himself to mention it.
This launch only carries a small crew to do a specialized kind of job.
But each life is a terrible responsibility for him.
Chief.
Chief, the barge.
Turn around. Swing away from that barge. She's going up.
Oh, we're too late, Chief, but it all seemed to go up at once.
Yeah. See what I mean about being on it?
Yes, sir. Just a mass of flames from one end to the other.
Lucky we weren't any closer, Chief.
Look at that burning oil spilling over the side.
Looks like the harbor was on fire.
Hey, you at the wheel.
Whenever the lingo is for getting this seagoing hook and ladder over to the tugboat, consider it set.
Yeah, I wonder what they're thinking on board the fireboat right now.
They're thinking that all the water they can pour from those monitors isn't much help in this case.
Yes, sir. It's up to us to continue the fight from the tugboat under that plan Captain Jarvis threw up just in case.
Yeah. That blazing floating mass has got to be kept away from the waterfront now, Jim.
And that means Mike Halloran has got to keep his tug on the job no matter what happens.
You think we're in a spot, Chief?
We will be. Once we get aboard that tug, she'd do dog on close to that inferno for comfort.
We'll be in a spot all right, Jim. You might even say a hot spot.
And Chief Cody is right. The slow speed of the tug is not even checked as he and Tim are put aboard.
Quickly, they move to the stern where big Mike Halloran stands.
The intense heat from the nearby barge causes sweat to pour from his face, but he brushes it out of his eyes, then they follow.
If you've let out as much cable as you can, Jim, stand by and keep your eyes open.
I don't care how hard it gets back here. You cut us loose and I'll have your height.
Captain Jarvis was right, Jim. The skipper's a good man.
Yes, sir. That's a fact, Chief. The temptation to cut loose and get away from here would be plenty understandable.
Wait till it really begins to get hot. Now, here he comes.
Okay, Jens. What's on your mind? Too bad that launch didn't reach us in time.
Sorry about that, Captain Halloran, but it wasn't in the car.
Oh, this is Private Collins. I'm Chief Cody.
Well, when Captain Jarvis sends me help, he sure picks the high brass, eh?
He needs every man of his own crew for the job ahead, Captain Halloran. The Chief just happened to be aboard.
Don't get so arsed. I'm glad you're here. How's it look?
That roaring sea of flames in the barge, you may have a fire breaking out here any minute. Got extinguishers?
Sure an inspector would have my scalp if it didn't.
You two men by the rails! Break out the extinguishers!
Post yourselves so you can see if we're gonna need them!
Next, Chief. Captain Jarvis anticipated what might happen, Mike. That's why we're here.
Now, he's figured out a plan of action which he wants you to follow.
Uh, he did say, Chief, that the Captain here might have the same thing in mind.
We'll see. Let's go forward to my quarters. Get out of this heat a minute. Watch your step.
All right. Good advice. It's beginning to look like the middle of the night with that thick black smoke pouring around us.
Captain Jarvis tells me the tide is such that we're being pulled toward that waterfront property on our right.
If you mean off to Savage, you're right, Chief.
Well, if that barge is allowed to drift in there, ships, docks, warehouses, plants, a few million dollars worth of property will go up in smoke.
As long as we can hang on to her, she won't drift, son.
Of course, it's possible the heat may get more than is humanly possible to bear, but that the tug may burst into flames herself.
We'll stick, Chief. Only one thing can stop us.
Yes, I know. Uh, in here?
Right.
Good. I want you to take a look at the harbor chart Tom Jarvis had to bring.
I know this harbor like the palm of my hand.
Well, that's not the point, Captain Halloran. Uh, let me help you unroll that map, Chief.
All right. Yeah, now.
Yeah. Now, uh, you see this island at the mouth of the harbor, the one Captain Jarvis marked?
Yeah. Open water all around. The perfect place to beach that compounded barge if we can make it.
We'll be bucking both wind and tide, you know, Chief.
Now, Jarvis and the fire boat will tag along, but the chances of cutting down that fire are pretty slim.
Yeah. They can pump the harbor dry and water still won't mix with oil.
Well, how about their formite equipment, Chief?
Well, they'll do what they can, but smothering that entire barge is an impossible job.
Well, this is one time when my battered old tug is a darn sight more important than your fire boat.
I can't argue that. At the moment, it's up to you, Mike, and you alone.
If you can beach that barge before we have a waterfront tragedy on our hands.
Well, there's only one thing can prevent my trying, Chief.
What's that, Captain?
That blazing scow getting loose from us, Colin.
Well, I'd better set our course with the man at the wheel. If you need me for anything else, just holler.
A short time later, Chief Cody and Tim stand near the stern of the tug,
the perspiration pouring from them. The Chief has an anxious eye on the cable
stretched taut between the tug and the barge, but he merely says,
I expect we're about the hottest thing on the seven seas.
You could say that again, Chief.
We were on dry land, Jim. If we could only turn a couple of companies to work on that barge.
Yes, sir. Makes you feel kind of helpless just standing around, doesn't it, Chief?
Here comes Mike Halloran.
Everything under control, Captain?
Not until we get that scow on the beach, it isn't, Chief.
Shipping seems to be giving us a wide berth, huh?
Hey, I can't blame them. Wish we'd worked our way farther away from those docks than we have.
We're getting there, Mike.
Wind tied everything against us.
But what's the matter, Tim? Hurt your hand?
No, sir. No, I... believe it or not, I just
leaned my hand against this railing and darn near burned it.
Say, V-Latchy.
Hey, Jim! Can't you pay out any more of that cable?
The more distance between us and the barge, the better.
The safer, I'd say. Your tug won't be much help if it bursts into flame.
How about that, Chief? Couldn't Captain Jarvis on the fire boat
use those monitors to give us a curtain of water?
They're sure enough wasting them on that barge.
Uh-oh, forget it. Get away from that cable, Jim!
Come on, boys. We'd better move out of the way, too.
Are you afraid it's gonna snap?
Mike and I have been afraid of that since we arrived, son.
Look, did you forget the other end of that is attached to the barge?
Oh, say, once that burning oil spreads enough to go to work on it.
Right. If you can burn your hand on the railing this far away,
imagine what that heat is doing to the cable.
You mean what it did. Not as much snap as it did.
I'm sorry, Chief. That puts us out of the race.
It's, uh, humanly impossible to attach another cable in that inferno.
Well, we'd better get back to the fire boat, Tim.
That's where the action starts now.
Yes, sir, but what on earth can they do, Chief?
The barge is free to drift with the wind and the tide.
Captain Jarvis knows his business, Tim. We'll help him.
You're helpless, Chief. The only thing that counts now
is keeping that barge away from the docks. How are you gonna do that?
I don't know. But if she's allowed to drift another 10 minutes,
we're going to have the biggest waterfront fire on record.
She's got to be stopped.
But already the flaming barge has swung around under the force of the wind and tide.
Momentarily, it will be drifting slowly toward the shore to endanger life and property.
A flaming mass on the loose. How can anyone or anything get close enough to check its progress?
Well, to find out, don't miss the next exciting episode of The Firefighters.
In a minute, Chief Bob Cody will be back to tell all of you boys and girls
how you can help the firefighters in your own town.
Right now, a message you'll want to hear.
Now Chief Bob Cody with a message for the Firefighters Brigade.
Chief Cody.
Attention, firefighters. This is Chief Cody.
You've just seen that water isn't always the answer to putting out a fire.
So if you're ever faced with the danger of burning fat or oil, don't throw water on it.
Now here's what you do. Use baking soda or salt or find a metal cover of some kind
to smother the flame. Smother them.
That's the same principle as our using foam to put out a fire of that type.
Well, that's all. Until next time, this is Chief Cody saying, so long.
Fire Chief Cody and the young rookie fireman Tim Collins will be back on the same station
the next time you hear...
That's it. Let's roll!
Let's go! Fire! Fire!
Fire! Firefighters is a copyrighted feature of William F. Holland Productions.