Backdraft: It Will Blow You Away

As the fire alarm sounds a fireman grabs his youngest son to accompany him on the call. The little boy stands in awe outside the burning building. He proudly watches as his dad enters a third story window, rescues a little girl, looks at him and winks, then goes back in to fight the fire. His proud amazement turns to horror as he watches the fire break through the outside wall of the very room that his dad is in. The little boy yells for his dad as that part of the building explodes into flames. His dad’s fire helmet falls to the ground right in front of him.
Ron Howard directs an all-star cast in this exciting action-thriller that shows you the mystery, drama, and devastation of fire, as you’ve never seen it before. Released in July 1991, this action-packed story takes you right into the lives of a family of firemen. Due to the profanity, implied sex scenes, the shots of burned bodies, and the somewhat unnerving special effects, this film has an “R” rating.
What makes Backdraft an excellent movie is due to the exceptional portrayal of the characters, the magnificent balance of five different storylines in one, and the eye-opening special effects.
Stephen McCaffrey and Brian McCaffrey are two feuding siblings that carry on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. When a puzzling series of arson attacks are reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these explosive crimes.
In this film there was a list of talented, and well-known actors who did a tremendous job of portraying the personalities of their characters. Kurt Russell (Stephen McCaffrey) and William Baldwin (Brian McCaffrey) are the sons of a Chicago fireman, who gave his life in the performance of his duties. As a small boy, Brian witnessed the death of his father. Brian is emotionally scarred and has difficulty finding the right job. He had wanted to become a fireman like his father and older brother Stephen, and finally makes the same commitment. After graduating from the Academy, he is assigned to his brother’s crew. The rivalry between the two causes Brian to feel as if he constantly has to prove himself to Stephen, who thinks of Brian as his irresponsible little brother. Stephen is very courageous and probably takes more risks than most firefighters. Although it seems that Stephen is convinced that Brian hasn’t got what it takes to remain on the fireman squad, his feelings are less negative and more complex than they first appear. Underneath Stephen’s tough exterior he is very concerned about protecting the life of his brother. Stephen manages to browbeat Brian off the team. Feeling incompetent, but determined to continue his career, Brian joins the fireman’s investigations force, assisting arson investigator Donald Rimgale (Robert DeNiro). Brian’s first assignment with Rimgale is to investigate a series of arson fires involving an oxygen-induced ball of fire called a backdraft. Rimgale turns to imprisoned pyromaniac Ronald Bartel (Donald Sutherland) for links in the investigation of the arson attacks. The actors did a fantastic job of exposing all facets of their characters.
Ron Howard managed to run five different stories at the same time, all separate and yet interconnected, and still make them seem to be a cohesive unit. The five storylines are: 1) the animosity between two brothers. 2) Trouble at home between Stephen and his estranged wife Helen (Rebecca DeMornay). 3) Stephen slowly losing the respect of his company. 4) The rekindling of a relationship between Brian and Jennifer (Jennifer Jason Leigh). 5) The whodunit with elements of murder and arson.
The special effects seen in this movie take you into the actual essence of a fire. Silently, it waits. One breath of oxygen and it explodes into a deadly rage. In one scene when a man opened his front door, he was blown back into the street and impounded through the windshield of his car. In the last fire scene of the movie, Brian is compelled to follow his instincts and help fight a warehouse fire with Stephen and the rest of their team. Stephen, Brian, and a fellow fireman were in the main warehouse area fighting the fire. Part of the platforms they were on collapsed. Brian watches as Stephen and the other fireman end up dangling from the platform above the flames. Stephen is holding on with one hand while hanging onto the other fireman with the other hand. Stephen said, “If you go, we go,” as he lost his grip. The fireman fell to his death while Stephen landed on another platform below. As Brian made it to his injured brother’s side, other firemen came in with the hose. Explosions took place and they lost control of the hose. Brian single-handedly captured the hose from the flames. He fought the fire as the firemen rescued Stephen. No other movie has demonstrated such realistic pyrotechnic effects as seen in Backdraft.
This is an exciting movie with a suspenseful plot and it gives a realistic glimpse into the life of a real firefighter. With its talented portrayal of the characters, the magnificent balance of five different storylines in one, and the eye-opening special effects, Backdraft magically mixes mystery, honor, bravery, and love into one exceptionally produced and directed movie.
Backdraft: It will blow you away!

Within a split second a body part can be lost, you can become forever paralyzed, or even death can occur. No one thinks about a mishap crossing his or her daily path until it actually happens.
When an accident occurs the lives of the people involved often depend on the quick reaction and the proper treatment of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). These groups of professionals primarily provide care to emergency patients in an out-of-hospital setting with medical direction. Their goal is to prevent and reduce mortality and morbidity by providing immediate care when illness or injury occurs. When an EMT goes on duty, their first priority is to check the inventory of supplies and make sure that all of the equipment is functioning properly. After this, the life of an EMT at the dispatch center is much like their life at home. In a sense, it’s a different location with a different family. Depending upon the time of day or night, they may be eating, sleeping, watching television, or just having a plain old conversation with a fellow EMT.
It was three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, and it was time for Scott Caserta to begin his twenty-four hour shift at the dispatch center. As he does every time he leaves for work, Scott kissed his wife and children goodbye. Never knowing the dangers he may come across, Scott wants to make sure that his family knows how much he loves them. This particular Sunday evening the EMTs had planned a dinner, and Scott was one of the designated cooks. They were just sitting down to a full course meal when the dispatch tone went off. The call came in as a motor vehicle accident located on German Ridge and Fifth Street Hill. They took off in the ambulance. When they arrived on the scene, there was a woman outside of her car yelling for her baby. When Scott and the other EMT searched the car, all they found was the torso of a child. When the woman lost control of her car, she had been driving intoxicated with her three year old daughter in her lap. The car hit an embankment and her daughter became her airbag as the child was decapitated by the steering wheel. After twenty minutes of searching, they found the decapitated head in a ditch. Physically the woman suffered only minor injuries, but mentally she has to live with what she has done for the rest of her life. After witnessing a scene like this Scott said, “Emotionally you have to pick yourself up and dust yourself off, then return to the call center and wait for the next dispatch.”
This particular experience that Scott relayed to me left me feeling somewhat disturbed. As we concluded our interview, I asked him what was the worst part about the job. After giving it some thought Scott said, “Two of the hardest parts in the life of an EMT is not knowing what you will see when you go on a call, and never knowing what the end result will be.”

It is amazing that we take our life for granted everyday. We expect that everything is going to remain the same in our secure little world. In the blink of an eye death can occur, and change our lives forever.
At age eleven, I was carefree and innocent. Never before had I experienced the death of someone in my family.
A Sunday evening about seven years ago, we received a phone call from a family member, letting us know that my cousin, Jason, had been taken to the hospital after a bad car accident. I remember my parents discussing what had happened. Jason and his family had just finished attending church, and everyone was making their way outside. After an argument with his girlfriend, Jason had left in his car towards home. Several other friends from church, including his girlfriend and his parents, were on the road not far behind him. This stretch of road was a dangerous one. It was narrow and curvy, and traveled at high speed by many. Those who traveled it frequently sometimes took this danger for granted. Jason was one of those people. He pulled into the opposite lane to pass, and before he could get back into his own lane, suddenly, a car coming from the opposite direction was right in front of him. They hit head on. Jason’s car rolled over an embankment and landed in a field. I vividly imagine the anguish and the fear that his girlfriend and his parents must have felt when they came upon the accident, and went down to his car to find Jason pinned in the wreckage, and badly hurt, but still alive.
Later, the second call came informing us that he had died. This was the first time that I had to deal with a death in our family. I recall my mom and dad having conversations about this tragedy. They couldn’t understand how someone so young and full of life could be gone in an instant. Everyone was very upset, especially Chris, my oldest brother, who was very close to Jason and had worked with him in an orthopedic sales business. The morning after the accident Chris was so distraught that he pulled right out in front of a car while on his way to work. After hearing all the conversations and feeling the pain that my family felt, I couldn’t convince myself to go to the funeral services. I wanted to remember Jason as I knew him, not as a lifeless body lying in a casket.
As hard as the loss was for friends and family, it was devastating for Jason’s parents. You see, he was their only child, and at the young age of twenty-three, he was no longer with them. When they would visit with us we would talk about their lives before and after Jason. Everyday his dad still gets up and puts on Jason’s class ring, necklace, and bracelet. His mom has created a small room in their new house as a memorial to Jason. He is still very much a part of their lives, in decisions that they make, and places that they go. Both of Jason’s parents hold a strong spiritual belief that has helped them to deal with living without him here on this earth. They know that they will see Jason again, and that’s what gets them through each day. God has also blessed them with a son that they adopted four years ago. It is amazing to see how much he favors Jason, and his parents, in his looks and personality.
Over the years I have came to the understanding of death and how it affects everyone in different ways. I am reminded every time that I see Jason’s parents what a loss that they have suffered, but also what a wonderful blessing they have received in their son, Anthony.