You're listening to the Getting Salty Experience podcast. What we go? Welcome back
to the Getting Salty Experienced podcast, The only one that preis at Firehouse gets
your table to you with a spiffy, dolled up Mike cologne. Finally give
me that went back to the guinea tease for a while, like I was
showing off the guns. You know, I was a raging both Yeah,
now was a professional Mike the teeth plan and look at a white teeth.
Damn. Yeah, welcome back. You know what the story is? Do
you know what podcast? This is? Mike album? It's what podcast?
This is the self proclaimed best podcast in the fire Service, the premier maybe
in the world, in the world, I would say, so, you
know, there's nobody else like it. There's there's many imitators, you know,
but nobody could ever duplicate it. Well, imitation is the best form
of flattery, right roads That is the truth. Yeah, that's why I
try to be like Roof all the time. I don't have his money,
but if I had his money, I'd be happy. But why do you
tell us about the one o three to ninety reunion? How did that go?
So we had I think sixty five guys, this was uh last week,
and any old coots did, like really, there was a lot of
old coots. I tried to you know, I was throwing the debate out
a little bit. A lot of guys watched the show, but you know,
it's tough. It's tough, Crawdy. I don't think you were recruiting
anybody at that time. You know, everybody was hanging around breaking chops.
My face was killing me. We were there from was it the Dinah from
nine o'clock until like noon? But a lot of great, great stories.
Man always storways flying around, but nobody sure on the hook. Nobody.
I mean, I think I got a couple, but somebody ran into the
bath loips. I don't want to say that outside, but I'll be on
the show. I'll come on. You know a lot of humble guys that
man, real deal guys, very humble. So how always the oldest guy
to Oh definitely in the seventies, Yeah, yeah, there was guys from
there from that got on the job. I would say definitely seventies, eighties,
nineties, you know we were doing it. Oh yeah, they had
more stories. I mean they were telling some stuff that even the first time
I heard him, I couldn't believe like what I was hearing. Like some
some things are really incredible, like the Wild Wall West. It was the
Wild West, Smoke Sheffield Wild Wild West. But it was a great it
was a great turnout. It was really cool, good time. Yeah,
Well you've been Mike. What you've been doing besides getting swollen? Well,
I've been busy with work at the firehouse, you know, managing their social
media over for the West Haven Fire Department. Great with that. The podcast
has been back now for a little while, So busy with the show is
for that one tomorrow night one later this week on Alright, got a really
cool guest. Yeah, I know, we'll talk about it a little bit
later. Yeah, you guys might know. So, yeah, that'll be
a fun show Friday. And I have my consulting business too, So I've
been a very busy guy barely at time consulting business. I do, indeed
have a consult Say what is it all about? Oh what do you know?
Look what we have here? Need advice and how to start your podcast?
Frustrated with the editing process, can't find a voiceover? Guy? Hi,
I'm Mike Cologne and I'm here to help. I'm the owner and founder
of MC Media Editing Services, your premier consulting company for all things media,
where I can offer you consulting advice on how to get started and once you
get started editing as well as voiceover work, all for a very reasonable price
if you want to reach But you can contact me at nine one seven seven
eight one six one eight nine or the email that you see listed here.
I'm always available and I'm always willing to help again. Nine one seven seven
eight one six one eight nine. Why go to some giant consulting from It's
going to charge you in arm in the leg when you can just come to
me. You want to be stress free, the way to go is to
call mc MC Media Editing Services, your premier consulting company. He's even got
a little a little catchy jingle at the end. You pick that up.
I did want to be stress free whole MC. That's right. Maybe big
His voice is like silk. He's like a cruna bro. Can you saying,
Mike, no, no, no no. God gave him any gifts,
but he wanted to keep me humble, so he didn't give me that
one. M I let's play the other commercial quickly because I'm gonna tell you
right now, go get you Kleenex for this one. Brother might be so
well and up going on rough you might. I'm not crying. You're crying.
No, you're crying. Well, Here's a trial by fire lay as
a gentleman two minutes and forty three seconds enjoy. When I was two years
old, I was in the New York Times. My father was a New
York City firefighter who was killed in the line of duty on an infamous day
known as Black Sunday, January twenty third, two thousand and five, the
day an unwelcome spotlight was immediately focused on my family at the worst time in
our lives. That tragic day began like any other from my dad, John
Baloo, a father of four from Pearl River, New York, but after
a series of fateful complications in an apartment fire, he and five other of
his f d and why brothers had to make the horrific choice to jump from
a fourth floor window to escape the approaching inferno. My mom, my three
siblings, and I, as well as the other surviving men who jumped for
their lives, were left to grapple with the events of that tragic day,
and after that day, it became clear that jumping was the decision they should
not have had to make. Now, eighteen years later, my screenplay about
Black Sunday will tell the story of the heroic acts and difficult choices of these
men, and the circumstances and injustices that stole their lives. That fateful day
did lead to changes in the New York City Fire Department that will undoubtedly save
the lives of future firefighters. But in order for those lives to be saved,
my father, Lieutenant Kurt Myron, and Firefighter Joey de Bernardo had to
sacrifice their own lives. It's time for this story to be told, and
I'm asking for your help to make it a reality on the screen. Well,
Bud, Mike, did you edit that? No, that's all okay,
Katriana, that's all okay. We did bring her in. We missed
time that let's uh, let's bring her in. Let's get patriotic, and
then we'll we'll talk to the audience and tell them how they can help this
young ladys make this screenplay a reality, because we've got a big audience and
some deep pockets, and we'll basically, besh you over ahead until you call
for it off. So exactly, ladies and gentlemen, miss Katriana Blue and
there she is. Welcome to the shell. Young lady. Hi, who
are you? Was this the last stop? Like? Was this the Uh?
Yeah? What else is left out there? We gotta She's like,
no, Ideo, no, let's get patriotic before we do this. Uh
Mike, please, here we go. I pledge allegiance to the flag of
the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Excellent.
And what we're gonna do is share that right in the comments below or so
they can share that on the social media. The link, the link to
the website as well as to that tree Taylor is in the description. So
for those of you that want to go to the description on both LinkedIn and
here on YouTube, you can access it easily. And yes, as Coop
said, please share it round right, okay, John Baloo John Baloo dot
com. Yep, we had the website right here in one moment. Here's
the website for the those of you that want to go visit. As you
saw at the end of the trailer, John Blue dot com ww dot JOm
Blue Dot. We're on a roll now, so I don't want to terrupt
a Mike, remind me we have to do on the cuff at the end.
And few guys out there who want to donate whatever we earned from the
super chat tonight, we are going to donate to this Young Ladies project.
All go directly on the website and donate yourself. But I don't want to
have to say there was a police officer show, Mike, it's off the
Cuff, Yes, Police off the Cuff, hosted by my friend, retired
NYPD sergeant Bill Cannon. She appeared recently on that didn't hicatriana h yeah yeah,
and she raised a significant amount of money. So let's show these donutt
is how much money? All right, let's go into your pot I know
you, yeah, you find me like shit for free. But let's go
into our pockets and let's really put out a number for this young lady here.
You know, let's get over a thousand dollars. Let's do that.
What do you say, Mike? I think so? I think we get
jop that, you know that way? I could text Bill Cannon later on
tonight we beat you. Yeah, Oh, we're going to beat him.
We're gonna beat him, don't worry. So tell them how to get into
a super chat, Mike. They don't know well what you can do,
of course, and if I could just find them banner, I'm a little
rusty, guys part in me. Of course. You can submit an amount
of your choosing, and whether it be a question or even just a simple
donation, we really do appreciate it. If it's a question, we'll get
to it at the appropriate time, if it's relevant to the subject matter with
the particular guests. But yeah, fire away in the super chat. Could
be one ninety nine, could be one hundred dollars. We've seen different amounts
over the years. But the key is this, any amount helps, especially
with tonight's show. It's not for us, it's for her, so please
remember that and the super thanks as well. If you don't catch the show
live, if you're watching the replay, same thing, you could fire away
any amount of your choosing. Not for us tonight, it's wall for country
Grampaup. Don't be stingy, get into the pocket so you don't go out
on a Friday night drinks and beer you throw, you throw some shekels this
young lady's way. Um, well, there we go already somebody, thank
you Jay. Actually, than before we get into a cat roof, I
know you have some first hand experience on this day, so let's kind of
give a little background to what happened up there. I mean, I did
a little research, but you you knew somebody you were looking. I remember
guys talking about that that was the first time in a long time that the
FDNY lost fireman it's separate jobs on the same day, nineteen eighteen, nineteen
eighteen. I don't realize the time that fallback. We lost two guys from
different jobs on the same day on the same thing. So just how I
mean, thank god, how rare it is. Um. But I was
telling Kat that when we first got in touch with each other a couple of
weeks ago, that obviously that day, I mean, for the fire department
as a whole, very special and uh you know, as far as uh
we hold it and hire a god with with the guys that um in the
Bronx. But that day in in in Brooklyn, I was the officer Avenger
Tuna, I know, and I was relieved that morning and a couple of
hours later. By the time I got home, Um, I had already
got text and phone calls about the job in Brooklyn with Richie Scleffani, who
was one of my favorite guys. He was, you know, even though
I was his ball, you know, a boss in the firehouse, he
was one of my best guys. We played cards together. I ended up
giving the julogy at his funeral, so um, you know, the same
same as you know. And then to hear the guys up in the Bronx,
and then to know those guys firsthand after all this time, Jeff cool
um and uh, Chief Joey d the Chief Dum. You know, it's
just uh. And then I mean I didn't know anything about your dad.
You know, we talked about that too, So that's why it was important
for you to come. You know, you know, the guys in the
firehouse when they took the ropes away, you know, even from myself,
I had made my own rope ballout set up that I had. You know,
a lot of guys were doing that because the rope that they had given
us initially was kind of antiquated. Although it was a rope I remember,
it was kind of like a big cinder block in your pocket, and so
guys came up with better ideas and schemes and uh, you know, especially
after they took them away, you know. But um so I just wanted
to say that that day, you know, even for myself, it absolutely
could have been me. It's kind of we talked about that too. It's
kind of unfortunately it's wrong place, wrong time, right place, right time.
It's just luck at the drop times, you know, nine to eleven.
We kind of still through that as well. So, um, how
how old were you cat when you when you pissed? I was about two
and a half. My younger brother was five months old, my sister was
six, and my older brother was three or four. So what memories do
you have? And from what I'm sure your mom told you all about your
dad? Tell us a little, I mean, you know about you know,
the fire fighter blue. Tell us about the dad, the father,
what was he like from Unfortunately for me, a lot of my memories are
more from stories because I was so young at the time and it's or from
pictures. I feel like I've almost formulated memories in my brain because of it.
But for like, my mom loves to talk about him, and she
tells us stories all the time, especially on days when it's her birthday or
the anniversary or whatever it is. So I definitely have I'm lucky that I
come from a family that's super open and able to talk about like their emotions
and talk about the grief rather than just like holding it in. And it
was always like important to my mom when raising us that like we would still
like have him in our memory, he would still be with us all the
time. Right, what what do you know about? Do you like sports?
Tell us a little about him. He was a big skier, a
cooker, a wine drinker, and hem um, if you look at my
younger brother, also, my younger brother is the spitting image of him,
Is that right? Yeah? And um he yeah, I blame my coffee
addiction on him. Um. Also he his big dream in life was to
write, you know, like the next great American novel. Um he never
but yeah it must be. I love my mom, but she cannot spell,
so wow, But I'm the captain of that boat that can't you can't
sell. But he wanted to write a novel. And if you look,
there's pictures of us when I was to one and I'm sitting on his lapel
he's reading a newspaper. And that's what my mom said that I did all
the time when I was younger. I'd sit on his lap while he read
the newspaper. And she's convinced that's why I'm able to write and I'm able
to read super fast and do like that is my strong serie. And how's
your mom doing today? Is she? My mom is remarried now and she's
m married to somebody who's also a widow, so they have that like understanding.
They've been together for ten years or a little over ten years, and
yeah, it's nice that they both found somebody and like not in the sense
like well you have to replace the other person. You get to just continue
your life with somebody else, but still honoring the memory of your first husband,
your first way now you were only two and a half. Do you
do you do you grasp the concept that your dad at passed on that day
or did you know you didn't? Really? What do you remember from my
memory? I only really remember life after he passed. It. It's almost
like I and I'm also I'm from a super small town, and it's almost
like it was always a part of my identity, Like I was somebody who
grew up without a father, and that was always just kind of like how
I lived my life, Like I don't know really a life before it or
after it. And in a sense, I'm like, I don't know if
that makes losing somebody more or less difficult, because in a way, it's
like you don't get to know the good parts about having a dad. You
only kind of know life after it, right, But at the same time,
it's like, oh, it would have been nice to have those years,
even if it was ten years, you know, instead of ken I
had. Well, I told you that too. My dad passed away when
I was nine. My mother never remarried, and I lived through stories myself.
Now even at night, you would think I would have a lot of
memories, but even at that point, I still the ones that stick out
to me is that night, like, uh, you know when it happened.
He passed away from an aneurysm. I remember got you know, the
ambulance was day working on him. I woke up in the middle of the
night. But you know, same thing you know that we had discussed on
the phone, is that, you know, my whole life has been you
know those types of questions where you know, you see people maybe they take
for granted. You know, my mother was great. She she could have
had every excuse to give up or to be selfish, but she did,
you know, the best that she could, and that was more than probably
two parents some some two parents can do. Right. So I take you
know, that's how I sent that to you, right we went away in
the last trip. Because we've been friends for over forty years, I said,
I've never seen a woman be able to take on both roles like your
mother did. Bro. She like she to discipline like a dad would do.
Like I was sitting home, wait a few if we came home late,
she'd be on the stupid whiff the ball back back because I was you
know, I knew everything right, Yeah, exactly like my mom good.
Yeah, because she had she had girls and she had boys, so she
had to be it. Yeah, it's really had to be a dad or
the mom. Yeah. Yeah, I say that all the time. I
think that, uh, you know, there was always this little I think
I've said this on the show. Maybe there was always this feeling to do
right and to do more and to make meg and prap because he was kind
of watching over right, So you know, I always kind of felt that
I didn't want my mother to be alone either, So when you had told
me that your mom had remarried, you know, I always feel like that's
especially if they find somebody who's kind of in this was in the same boat.
I think that's important because it doesn't really affect the kids too much as
opposed to somebody who's coming in it doesn't have any idea about that, right,
So that's that's a pretty good thing, I think. But we always
talk about how the brother the FDNY is such a strong force too for support.
Do you remember them being around and always you know, helping out you
know. Yeah, So I had like an interesting situation where after the fire,
it didn't end because first off, it was a highly like publicized fire
as well. So a part of like a part of what really upset me
when I was growing up was not so much the fact that my dad had
passed, but that every single year we were reliving it in like a big
mass where there was always like reporters, different things like that. And also
we had a highly publicized criminal trial and civil trial, so that lasted for
twelve years after the fire um until they finally like finished both the trials.
So um, I've been around not just like yes, because they've been supportive,
but also because we had to be around fireman like the entire time,
and they've been so great and also like the reason I like half of my
college tuition is funded by different scholarships from the National Fallen Firefighters Association Association Silver
Shields IF a bunch of different like first Responder and Fireman's specific foundations have just
like constantly provided me support, especially through college and just the entire time that
I've grown up to give a little backdrop on what's going on. Like you
had said, these suits, I believe that what happened was it was an
illegal alteration in the apartment, so they got trapped and they couldn't get out.
So I believe that the tenants were found not guilty, right, Yeah,
So the fire originated on the third floor and then shot up to the
fourth floor and they had an illegal wall put in, and I believe that
the tenants got off not guilty, but the landlords were found guilty and then
it was reversed a year later, I think, right or something like that.
Six months later, Yeah, six months later, what was that about?
Why was it reversed? They appealed it. So no, it was
basically out of the blue. Um. Six months later, they everybody,
my mom, all the other firemen went to the sentencing for them, and
at the sentencing the judge basically said turned around and was like, I don't
I believe that there's been like bias in the trial, because what the thing
is, the people that were on the jury were most likely this people,
presumed that they were assumed that they're most They may have been people that were
in civil similar living situations where they would have um, superintendents and owners of
the building that were similar to these this people that were found guilty. These
people that we found guilty. So she found that there was bias in the
trial because it might have just been like tenants acting out against your landlord.
Right, so um, yeah, they were ultimately found not guilty, remember
that, right, But they were found guilty of the civil suit, right
I believe? Yeah? Right, Which you don't want to have to pay
something for that, you know. M the civil suit was I don't think
it was done until twenty sixteen. Oh wow, oh my god. Out
I was in high school. I was like fourteen fifteen. At the time,
did you feel like you couldn't get closure because this thing kept dragging on
with you know, like you said every year and then with lawsuits and then
with the trials, you feel like you aren't able to get closure with this
thing. It was more like, I don't know, I would say I
was kind of protected from a lot of I was definitely protected from the criminal
trial because I was a lot younger. I was like seven eight at the
time, um, so I didn't really know what was going on, but
it was I think I think it was more so what affected me growing up
was definitely just like the masses and like the things like that. Like I
a part of like that. My whole trauma of like this happening to me
when I was younger is I don't really handle death well. And up until
probably three or four years ago, I was not able to really talk about
my dad, and like I was able to talk about him in general sense,
but not in like in depth in detail. And I worked on that
a lot, and now I'm like super open about talking about it, and
I'm able to like celebrate him, and I'm able to like do like like
on the day of his anniversary. It's much easier for me now than it
was for me when I was younger. I feel the same way about that,
and I'm fifty five. I was I couldn't do that when I was
twenty. There's no way. Honestly, I don't think I could have done
it. Yeah, it's it definitely hikes. Like you have to be willing
to work on yourself and work on like being okay with it. How was
your your brother whose he was older is he? Um? How was he
affected by it? More? He was still to be six years old?
Was kind of young. So my sister was six, My brother was really
a year older than me. Um, But she was I would say from
what I've gathered from my mom that she was one of the only one of
the kids that really understood what like what was going on kind of when it
when my mom actually told her that my dad like wasn't coming home, and
she was like she refused to believe it, and she was like she thought
my mom was being mean. She was like, why are you telling me
that he's not coming home? Um, So she understood. But like I
think all of me and my siblings have handled it all in different ways,
and like even my older brother, UM, when he was younger, like
would act out a little bit, probably because he was just like, you
didn't know what was going on, Like you're just confused when you're y,
you can't identify with it, doesn't know what he's feeling. How Yeah,
are you guys all close? We're all super close? Yeah? Anyone want
to be a five fighter? Um? Like they're Both of my brothers are
interested in it, and my mom is like, there's a lot of there's
a lot of guys, a lot of sons. Uh, which is a
lot of guys. I don't know how many there is, but it's probably
close to one hundred. I would imagine, you know, nine to eleven.
Uh you know, Oh yeah, I would say it smaller than that.
Yeah, just Ronnie Gee is three boys are on? Right? It
was two boys are on? Yeah too. I always felt like when I
met one of those guys, it was such a special thing, you know
what I mean? It really is for those guys to follow into footsteps.
Not not that you have to do that obviously, but if if that's what
you want to do, and that's because it's a big you know, you
got big shoes to fill. You have to walk in your own shoes,
right, but you're always going to have that little bit of umbrella hanging over
here, and you know you're gonna want to make those guys proud obviously,
So that's always uh uh just so a little bit different. Uh. Cat
when your mom remarried, right, what did your stepdad to He wasn't he
wasn't a fire there was he? Or was he? No? He wasn't.
Did he did he understand the culture? Did he did he understand the
culture of the fire department? Or it was like what the hell is this?
You know, like these guys are here every day because we are you
need breath. No. I think he's just a super like friendly nice guy.
So he I think enjoys talking to all the fireman when he meets them.
And he was a big support system for my mom during the trials.
So he met people during the trial, Um that he you know you were
you were saying, there was a few guys that you you met you became
very close with from the firehouse, right. So my mom she became really
good friends with Brendan Cowley after the fire, who was one of the firemen
who was in the fire with my dad and Brendan and my dad had only
met like one time before the fire, so they didn't know each other.
Brendan was thirty days on the job. He was prob. And but because
they were going to like court every day and like just a part of this,
like nobody else really understood. Nobody can really understand what you go through
unless like you were like really a part of the same exact thing. And
so my mom and Brendan got super close and to this day are still super
close. And when I was writing my screenplay, he was a really like
he was a really helpful person in like getting insight onto the into the fire.
He teaches like a class about the fire to the Fire Academy, and
I was able to actually go and see his prison take at the fire Academy,
and I was completely like, like I thought I knew what happened in
the fire, and hearing him speak, I was like, oh my god,
I had no idea. You know, I was just going to ask
you that question, when did you find out how as an adult, how
it actually took place, Because when you're a kid, your palty, oh
my dad died in fire, jumped out of window or whatever. When did
you get the full details and didn't change anything with you. I would say,
yeah, I would say, I mean I always knew the general details,
but I don't. I don't think I knew. I think kind of
every time my mom spoke about it, she would reveal like a little more,
long, more to the point where you never really know, like when
you learn the whole story. But I don't think I've had an like as
strong of an understanding of it until these past few months when I was researching
this. Well, I think, I mean, we when in the firehouse
when unfortunately, if we have a line of duty death, we really they
do like after action, right, and then we get to hear the transmissions,
right, we get to see the report and we go over that over
and over and over again, right, we you know, because we don't
want to repeat stuff, and we try and figure out what happened and what
we could do better and all that stuff. Right. There's not a time
I listened to that those transmissions. That that's one fire that if I listened
to it, just I can't. After it's done, it affects me for
the whole day. Like I remember, you know, we would get new
guys, whatever it was, we'd make them listen to that. You know,
we'd listen to it. We go over the may Day transmissions and you
know, the roof operations and what the guys did, you know, to
save the guys that who lived right, because they could easily you know,
if they didn't stabilize the way they did right with Jean and those guys there.
You know, those guys could absolutely if they just rushed them into the
ambulance and panicked, you know, those guys might not be here, Jeff.
You know. So there was a lot of guys that kept their cool
and did the right thing. And that's one of the things that I take
from that job is, um, you know, to take your you know,
hurry up, but take your time right you had you know, those
guys really did. Those guys solid and they're here and they're you know,
you know for that, you know. Unfortunately, you know, they jumped
out four stories or whatever it was, but there was two stories more in
the back, so it was like six stories, you know what I mean.
So I just listened to that. If you say that, I was
just listening to the taste before we came on. Oh so, just so
it affects me all the time. You know what I mean. But what
what did I have here? I had? UM? So what school?
What school you're at? What what do you where are you at? What
are you doing? I'm at NYU UM and I'm going into my senior year.
I studied dramatic writing and production. So dramatic writing is TV writing,
screenwriting, and playwriting, and I'm concentrated in screenwriting. Very cool. So
tell me how you came up with this idea other than being in school?
What was the first the impetus? What was Did you always have this in
your head or it just it was always? It was always something I wanted
to write as soon as I like really realized that I wanted to do screenwriting,
but it wasn't something I felt like confident in, like skill wise yet.
So I you know, I was really working been working on my writing
in the past year. I finally wanted to do it. But I know
my mom and the other firemen have been approached in years past about having a
film made, so but it just never came to fruition because the film industry
is just like that. It can take ten years, it can take twenty
years, and it could not get made, especially when there's a writer strike.
Yeah, so there's a writer strike, which is you know, an
issue for me right now. But yeah, so I started writing the screenplay
in January and I finished it in April, and then I've just obviously done
a lot of revisions different things, and I'm at a point where I'm like
very confident in my version right now. But if any if anyone, if
any of you, right then, you know, like you're constantly changing things,
right So where does it start? And I was just going to be
a movie or is this going to be it's a movie? Yeah, okay,
So what does it start? From? What timeline to up to the
fire or take us a little bit through it? It starts the day before
the fire. Um, kind of going into the conditions of the fire and
how it was a blizzard, it was frozen fire hydrants. Yea, it
basically, Um, my dad wasn't even supposed to be on duty. He
got had to stay for overtime because people they were held hostage because nobody could
come in. I remember I remember driving home. I had a pickup truck
that had four wheel drive, Otherwise I would guys stayed there because they could
not get home. Yeah, right, Um, and so then it moves
on to basically the six months after the fire, and then it does time
jump to five years later during the actual criminal trial. Very cool. So
you got a little bit of police stuff in there, Mike, What is
your moptick about it? Um? She likes it. She's she's a mom
though, so she just thinks every thing I do is great. Um.
So uh yeah, But I interviewed her for probably I don't even know for
how many hours, probably like close to ten hours at this point now,
where she's just told me little details and we'll text me things like throughout the
day and we'll be like, oh, and this happened too. I Like,
I don't know if I told you that. Um, you remember stuff,
right? Yeah? Our INSIGHT's been really great. So what's what's the
track? What's the track now? Like where do you you have the thing
written? Like? What what do you do now? Like do you have
to get on the horse and go talk to people? Like what do you
do next? Yeah? So that's where the writers strike kind of um messes
things up. So I haven't written. And what I'm doing with my website
now is I'm trying to get people interested and I'm also selling hats on it,
so that like to raise early development funds so that I can submit to
different screenplay contests and film festivals that have like script competitions, which is what
I've been doing as of late. That will then if I do well in
those, will get credibility to my name and also introduce me to different producers
or directors, investors, whatever it is. But if the writers strike wasn't
going on right now, I would be pitching it to producers, be banging
on doors. Yeah, exactly, doing anything I could. Is that how
every movie is made. I don't have no idea. Every movie, every
TV series, everything you see on Netflix basically the same thing. Somebody comes
up with an idea write something, and then goes and says, well,
usually an idea you'd hire a writer, but she's already a writer, so
it seems like she's wrote the screenplay herself. She doesn't have to find a
writer, no, I know. So then she just goes like to the
producers and that's at huh and this financial backing, and then, like she
said, she's got to get a name for herself right with credibility, and
then it always helps to land somebody who you think would uh you know,
be interested right a name a named actor that you'd be interested in UM or
would be interested in your in your piece, and that would give it a
lot more credibility, right am I correcting? That? Does a school help
you with that? Um? So? They The way my program works specifically
is I was able to write my script within UM school and get like feedback
while I was doing that. So for writing, they do. And also
they you do. You have resources, You have a career counselors, you
have an aluminis what I mean? Yeah? Yeah, so in a sense.
Yeah, and also like your people when you're in film sch cool,
like the person sitting next to you could be somebody that helps you make your
next film, you know right. The alumni is the guys you gotta Those
are the people you gotta work on because lean on them. Yeah, that
could be lean on him, you know what I mean? Roofie could be
forgot Yeah with the eyebrows. In that case, I think we should run
that one more time because it's people have been coming in after and if you
guys who are coming in after, we need to help this young lady to
get her project off the ground. Righting a screenplay about the fire that we're
over seven hundred thous already, but we want more. We want more.
Let's run out of you. I mean, I question cat. That ring
you have on your middle fingers. That's not your dad's wedding ring. Here's
a planny change. Oh no, it's not. It's just because I saw
him he had a ring on his fat up. Maybe that would be it.
Oh, there goes Frankie stuff and throned in there. Big job,
Frankie once again, Ladies and Gentlemen. Trial by Fire the Black Sunday movie.
When I was two years old, I was in the New York Times.
My father was a New York City firefighter who was killed in the line
of duty on an infamous day known as Black Sunday, January twenty third,
two thousand and five, the day an unwelcome spotlight was immediately focused on my
family at the worst time in our lives. That tragic day began like any
other from my dad, John Baloo, a father of four from Pearl River,
New York. But after a series of fateful complications in an apartment fire,
he and five other of his FD and WY brothers had to make the
horrific choice to jump from a fourth floor window to escape the approaching inferno.
My mom, my three siblings, and I, as well as the other
surviving men who jumped for their lives, were left to grapple with the events
of that tragic day, and after that day, it became clear that jumping
was the decision they should not have had to make. Now, eighteen years
later, my screenplay about Black Sunday will tell the story of the heroic acts
and difficult choices of these men, and the circumstances and injustices that stole their
lives. That fateful day did lead to changes in the New York City Fire
Department that will undoubtedly save the lives of future firefighters, But in order for
the those lives to be saved, my father, Lieutenant Kurt Myron, and
Firefighter Joey de Bernardo had to sacrifice their own lives. It's time for this
story to be told, and I'm asking for your help to make it a
reality on the screen. Hey Coobs, everybody's strowing like you think Burke or
chicker Otis or any of those guys. Yeah, I've been told I have
talked to Kat after when we get off because I've been writing something too so
That's how I know the whole process. So I can say, yeah,
there's a lot of doors, doors that could slant in your face found on
the door, So our teenticles can go places. For sure. We'll definitely
talk after cat. Um. What about the hat We have pictures of the
hats. Yeah, let's pull those, put them up there. Let's pull
those up. Give me one second while we get to those. Of course,
this is all again part of counts world. But part of the question
contreona, but why is why the shamrock? Um? Because every fireman I
know is Irish, but I'm one hundred percent Irish as well. UM.
Okay, but yeah, we used to um do so there's a scholarship in
my dad's name school and UM we used to do um um five k and
a golf outing for them. And these were the hats that we gave away
to the golf outing winners. UM. And people were asking pretty recently being
like, oh, I wish you guys had a shop that you could sell
the hats. So we revived the hats and put it towards because we have
UM. We had already funded the scholarship and we put it towards this fire
command coming into five hundred dollars right there. I think that's Glenn, that's
his I believe that's his company. You very generous menu command fire apparatus.
I lanted that is you, and I believe it is up. I think
we said that about Jewish people. You are very generous, mister Austen.
We're at thirteen das. Definitely getting the text tonight. Great job tonight.
Yes I have question. I don't know what else is gonna ask you.
I actually wanted to ask one if you don't like a coups because you know
we were talking about we were talking before the show, and I don't want
to get pre clemmed. For different reasons. Um, you know, we
grew up without our fathers. You lost your dad at an early age.
My dad wasn't in my life growing up, and a lot fell on our
moms and we don't see it. It wasn't always easy with me and my
mom growing up for a variety of reasons because I was young and I was
a boy. But now that I'm older, I appreciate it. So have
you had that moment now that you're older where you could look back with your
mom and you know, you could say Thank you for everything that you did,
even though it wasn't easy going through the teen years. You know,
you made it to this point. You turned out into such a great young
lady. Have you been able to have that moment with her yet? Since
she had to wear both heads? I think. I think what I've noticed
about my siblings is that we kind of skipped over the rebellious stage in our
life because I feel like we all were so like just knew how difficult her
life was. But obviously, like there's little things, like you argue with
your mom over little things, but it's kind of every single day or every
time I like speak to were about this project or just about in general,
I like, I can't even imagine, like how she raised four kids,
Like I don't, I do not know, and I don't know how she
raised four kids that have gone to college and like have all been like successful
in what we do. So to me, it's insane. Good Oak Trees,
you got their kid, Yeah, no doubt. And Mike, thanks
for getting real with us, brother. I know it was tough for your
mom, tough growing up without her dad. Louie. I saw Louie do
the same good thing we adopted Louie, who was at my house more than
my own brothers were. I think, but I tell your mother all the
time she fed me more than my mother did. I was always over there.
Yeah. So you know what, Mike, I'll adopt you. You
come over to just make me rice and beans, I'll be all right.
Do you still I can make the rice? My wife's Asian bron about the
beans? But do you still do anything with the my house? Are these
still uh? Is it still happening? Or? I actually was just recently
at UM. I do I've I haven't been to the fire house. We
went to the UM. The there used to be a Christmas party every year
that we would go to when we were younger. UM. But and I
went to the fire Academy recently and got a tour of all of the which
is so cool. The fire Academy, UM, the fake subway station,
very cool. UM. But I actually was just recently at UM a Silver
Shields Foundation event UM where we went to see a Broadway play and um that
was somebody who I've gotten scholarships from. And it was great. It was
so much fun. There was um other widows and their daughters who have lost
their dad for me, my sister and my mom went. So, let's
say you get this made and you getting made into a movie, What's what's
your biggest hope? What do you hope comes out of getting this movie made?
Besides the satisfaction of writing it, you know yourself and starting from nothing,
you know, what would be the thing that you'd say, that's what
I really wanted out of this? I guess. I guess in a way,
this movie and like showing like the injustice of the fire would kind of
be a way to get closure, like you said before on like did I
need the trial? Did I need the trials to justify the closure? And
in a sense, like it still doesn't because nobody was held criminally responsible.
Sometimes it still feels so like but but like they did something wrong, you
know, And in a sense having this movie made would kind of be like
having people like almost validated and like agree and be like yeah, like that
shouldn't have happened. People should have been found guilty. Right if you got
a couple of shekels in your pocket, that don't hurt either, you know
what I mean? Yeah, of course I like it. I know we
could say hey we know Kat, when right, Hey Kat who's this?
Who's this? Sorry? Never heard you? Coops? Whoops? Who I'm
talking to? That's funny? Anybody else got any more questions? Well?
Kat want to say anything else? Have you got anything else? Grown?
Was there anything else that you wanted to anything? Do you want to talk
about it? I wouldn't thank everyone for their donations and also thank you guys
for having me on the show. Oh. I love you know, people
who have an idea. It starts out to see, you know, just
an idea and it and it takes off, you know, it takes lens
of its own. It just becomes a movie like that. It's just amazing.
I love when people can create something from nothing. You know. All
right, so hold on if you get if you get this done in a
timeframe of let's say whatever, six six months, a year, like,
you're not gonna forget us, right, You're gonna come back on the show.
And you know, of course do you want to be in the movie
when when I DM or on LinkedIn? Hey, you want to come back
on getting salty? Who are looking for a short guy with a big nose
and glasses? I got that's me. I could I could be that guy.
I could play the Bronx Dominican. You know I'm half I get a
cup. Yeah yeah, Well, thank you young ladies for coming on the
show and sharing your your project with us, and hope we can send you
off in the right direction. Here put that website. Oh we gotta play
out commercial. We do gotta get paid, Mike, you're supposed to be.
We'll play Armor Tough and then we'll put up the website. But here's
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one seven seven six nine seven. Wonderful. You know, I know the
guys love the five stories, and we love you know, the drilling and
all the stuff, But this is really this is what firefighters are about.
Man. This young lady came on here and you guys reached into your pocket
because we take care of our own. Not only do we take care of
people that we don't know. When we run into a building, you don't
know who they are, we don't know what sex, call a race,
whatever they are. But we take care of our own. You know,
even though your dad's gone. How many is that? That's what we do
and I am. I am so proud of audience tonight to help this young
lady, you know, fulfill her dream. Mike, you're gonna get you
Olver Clinton against that. So guys, thank you so much. This is
what we do. We're just almost two brand. Kevin and I are going
to donate one thousand, so we're going to do three thousand. Beautiful to
you. Thank you so much. And you know we stayed a cop guy.
Hey, that's where we say. We wish you the best of luck
and we're gonna keep keep in touch with you. Hand. Don't forget the
website, John Blue dot com ww jot, don't get some hacks or something,
and get the shine box. While you're at it. We have one
shout out Mike, hold on yeah, and he find his let me find
his photo. Are all right? We have a message from let's see dear
Born Fire Department. Today we congratulate the time Chief Brian Keith on his retirement
from the Dearborn Fire Department after twenty four years of dedicated service. This is
really long, so can't just congratulations Chief from the Dearborn Fire Department. Enjoy
your time and come on in the water's fine, beautiful. Thank you he
did. Thank you, young lady. Thank you so much for having me.
Proud to have you so much, and it's great to meet you.
Great job. Guys. We'll see you oh Thursday. We have Chief Norman
and the bro of H two oh talking about oh and more coming in.
Look at this and the bro of H two oh coming on to do stam
pipes. We talked about stampipes. More coming in. Thanks guys so much.
You guys are the best. This is what we do until Thursday night.
Stay low and go all right, everybody, We'll see you. The
big one on behalf of lu bluer Fland excuse me, Contryana Blue and Kevin
Coogler on my cologne. Stay safe everyone, We will see you next time.