The first two seasons of Fire Country show Bode Leone, a convicted felon, working at the Three Rock Conservation Camp.
This is a place where inmates train to be firefighters in the made-up town of Edgewater, California. In the Season 2 finale, Bode earns his freedom because of his hard work as a prisoner firefighter.
He is excited to start a new career as a firefighter. However, California has laws that make it very hard for him to achieve this goal. Even with changes in the law, Bode would have a tough time trying to become a firefighter. He would likely spend a long time in court, trying to make his case.
California uses inmates as volunteer firefighters, which is a real part of Fire Country’s story. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) offers firefighting as a job training program for inmates. Low-level inmates can work with professional firefighters for one dollar an hour.
The CDCR works with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to respond to emergencies like fires and floods. These inmate crews also help in rescue missions and flood control.
Currently, 35 conservation camps operate in 25 counties in California. Bode’s role as a firefighter in prison is based on this real program.
Bode faces a big problem if he wants to be a firefighter. California has strict laws about licensing. To become a firefighter, Bode needs an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) license.
California law states that certain actions can lead to rejection. One of these actions is “Conviction of any crime that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of prehospital personnel.”
This means that because Bode was convicted of armed robbery, the EMS Authority probably would not give him a license. Bode also has a long criminal history that goes back to his teenage years.
Even though he wants to change his life through firefighting, it is unlikely that he would get the EMT license needed to work as a firefighter in California.
Recently, California tried to make it easier for inmate firefighters to get their records cleared. In September 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2147 into law.
This law helps non-violent inmates who trained as firefighters in prison. They can have their records cleared, allowing them to apply for EMT licenses. This law started on January 1, 2021. However, it also created some problems.
Still from the show (Paramount+)
Even though Governor Newsom signed the bill, older regulations remained in place. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld these regulations in June 2022.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that two former inmates who should have qualified for AB 2147 could not get their convictions cleared.
The judges stated, “Felonies, especially recent ones, reasonably call into question a person’s moral character.” This ruling means that AB 2147 is not very useful.
Bode’s criminal record makes it hard for him to get an EMT license. Even though the law allows him to ask to have his record erased, a federal court may deny his request. Bode’s dream may take a long time to achieve.
Bode’s situation is not impossible, though. Under AB 2147, he can ask the court to clear his record. If he has a good lawyer and a federal court takes his case, Bode could possibly get his record erased and apply for a license.
However, this would be a long and difficult process that a show like Fire Country, which focuses on drama, cannot fully show. In real life, Bode would likely take years to solve this problem.
The good news for Bode is that the world of television has made this issue easier for him. He will try to become a firefighter next season.
Promotion art for Season 3 shows Bode in real CAL FIRE gear, suggesting his uncle, Luke Leone, helped him. Luckily, Fire Country does not have to follow real laws. The writers can create fictional ways to solve Bode’s issues. So, firefighter Bode Leone will appear in Fire Country Season 3.
Die Hard is one of the most famous action movies ever. The simple yet exciting story of John McClane (Bruce Willis) and Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) keeps viewers engaged.
The script is well-written, and the performances by actors like Rickman, Willis, and Reginald VelJohnson make the movie enjoyable, especially around the holidays.
One reason Die Hard is a top action film is how real it feels. Viewers feel every punch, gunshot, and kick. They watch Willis jump from rooftops and perform many athletic stunts.
These stunts increase the excitement of Die Hard. However, some scenes led to serious health issues for Bruce Willis.
Willis worked hard to get the role of John McClane. The book The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood’s Kings of Carnage discusses this.
According to Fox News, on his first day on set, Bruce Willis almost died. During one stunt, John McClane jumps off a rooftop while explosions go off around him.
Willis was taken to the top of a building and covered in gel to prevent fire. An inflatable safety mat was placed five stories below for him to land on.
When he jumped, the explosions went off at the wrong time. He nearly missed the safety mat, which could have killed him. Despite this scary moment, Die Hard director John McTiernan said in the same book that Willis “loved doing” the stunts.
Although this incident ended well for Willis, he experienced other dangerous moments. He now has permanent reminders of filming Die Hard.
In an interview with The Guardian, Willis stated that he lost “two-thirds” of his hearing in his left ear because of the loud gunfire on set.
According to Slash Film, director John McTiernan used very loud blanks during filming to make it feel real. While this choice added to the action, it might not have been necessary.
There have been increasing calls to ban live firearms on film sets. For example, the new The Crow remake used airsoft guns instead of real ones, 30 years after Brandon Lee’s tragic death.
Rumer Willis, Bruce’s daughter, mentioned that her dad felt he had to act tough and push through unsafe conditions.
It is upsetting to think any actor might have to endure such experiences. A key attraction of Die Hard is that John McClane is not invincible.
Still from the movie (Disney+)
He suffers injuries, gets tired, and needs to rest after fights. This is when we enjoy great scenes of him using a walkie-talkie to tease or negotiate with Hans. McClane doesn’t need to be invincible, so why should the actor have to be?
Bruce Willis has shown that he can handle dangerous stunts in real life, just like his character John McClane does in Die Hard. The film remains one of the most rewatchable movies ever, but this fame came at a cost.
Bruce Willis risked his life and lost much of his hearing, a sacrifice that actors should not have to make today. Neither John McClane nor Bruce Willis is invincible, and the stunts proved this point, which is a sad reality.
In recent years, there have been many discussions about safety on movie sets. As filmmakers try to create thrilling experiences, they must also keep actors safe. The film industry should learn from Willis’s experiences and find safer ways to perform stunts.
With the rise of technology, filmmakers can use special effects to create the same excitement without putting actors at risk.
Bruce Willis’s journey in Die Hard shows the cost of action filmmaking and highlights the importance of actor safety in the industry. It serves as a reminder that behind the excitement, there are real dangers that should be addressed.
