In 2003, I nearly died in a house
fire in Queens , New York New York City
It was, of course, an honor when
the producers of the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award-winning Burn contacted me to get the word out on
Uncle Paulie's World about a screening of the film in Washington State
Burn is a documentary that follows the lives of members of the
Detroit Fire Department throughout an entire year. Their experiences aren't
easy, and their department isn't a normal one. Racial tensions and a lack of
jobs changed the face of the city, lowering the city's population from 1.8
million people to around half. That
exodus has left behind 80,000 abandoned structures that are essentially fire
traps, though the majority of the 30 daily structure fires are caused by arson.
That's nearly triple the number of structure fires in Los Angeles
Throughout it all, the
firefighters love what they do and enjoy coming to work each day. For a firefighter, there is nothing like the
adrenaline of entering a burning building, taking care of business, and saving
lives. They put themselves in dangerous
situations every day, selflessly, but still manage to maintain a
sense of humor about it all.
It was no joke to many of them
when a new executive fire commissioner came to Detroit
Burn is an eye-opening film about real people--real lives--and they
graciously let filmmakers Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez into their community to
give an in-depth glimpse into the triumphs and tragedies that take place in inner city
Detroit. Putnam and Sanchez shot nearly 1,000 hours of footage and interviews
to tell a shockingly true, and in its own way, beautiful, well-rounded story.
The film is full of selfless guys
whose stories are compelling and varied. Many grew up in the communities where
they live and work. And one thing connects
them all--a love for the job and the city they see dwindling away,
one fire at a time.
