In such a niche market, you might assume that fire helmets are sold only to fire departments and other emergency services agencies. However, being only 50 miles outside of Los Angeles, Phenix Technology has a decades-long connection to Hollywood. Film and television costume designers often outfit their actors with First Due, TL-2, and TC-1 helmets to portray brave characters in the fire service and EMS field. Likewise, with the rise in popularity of reality television, our helmets have been worn by notable stars that toured fire stations, rode fire trucks, and practiced live training scenarios. Today, we’ll dive in and look at nine examples of Phenix fire helmets seen in popular media, one of which can be seen at the museum in our Riverside, California facility!
1. Better Call Saul
|
Episode |
Season 4, Episode 1 – “Smoke” |
|
Date Aired |
August 6, 2018 |
|
Scene Location |
Albuquerque, New Mexico |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
In the aftermath of a major character’s death in a house fire, you see our First Due worn by several firefighters on scene. Better Call Saul, a neo-noir legal crime drama starring Bob Odenkirk, was a spin-off of Breaking Bad that ran for 6 seasons on AMC. Nominated for 53 Emmy Awards, Better Call Saul was ranked the 27th greatest TV series of all time by Empire in 2021.
Clip: https://youtu.be/drB4pyF7OZw?si=imZIzO296Fa13na5&t=35
2. Nightcrawler
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Date Released |
October 31, 2014 |
|
Scene Location |
Los Angeles, California |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
A Los Angeles freelance videographer arrives late to a structure fire and misses out on valuable footage he intended to sell to local news stations. Lou, played by Oscar nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal, finds himself in numerous situations throughout the film where he intrudes on emergency situations with fire and EMS wearing our First Due helmets. Paste Magazine ranked Gyllenhaal’s character in Nightcrawler fifth among the best portrayals of sociopaths in media.
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-IIrzfryPQ
3. Frequency
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Date Released |
April 28, 2000 |
|
Scene Location |
New York, New York |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
TL-1 (Pre-cursor to the TL-2) |
A detective working for the NYPD discovers that he can use a radio across time to magically communicate with his deceased father, a firefighter for FDNY in the 1960s. In several memorable scenes, you will see Frank (played by Dennis Quaid) wearing our TL-1 helmet. In real life, the TL-1 was unfortunately not around in the 1960s but was available just in time for New Line Cinema to purchase a few dozen before filming began in 1999. The helmet worn by Dennis Quaid in the film is on display at our museum in Riverside, CA. If you can’t stop by to visit in person, watch our clip below with a backstory from our founder, Ray Russell.
Honorable Mention: Grand Theft Auto 5
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Date Released |
September 17, 2013 |
|
Scene Location |
Los Santos, San Andreas (fictional) |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
We got this blog post before GTA 6. While we all impatiently await the eventual release of Grand Theft Auto 6, you can see our First Due worn by Los Santos Fire Department in GTA 5. If you have played the game, you’ve seen a yellow, orange, and white First Due worn by firefighters. It goes without saying, but we should note that the behavior by firefighters in GTA 5 is often not representative of the firefighting community in real life. Now that we have that legal disclaimer out of the way, players have mentioned that hanging around the firefighters in this game often results in being insulted. Additionally, if a player steals a fire truck, the firefighters are known to pull them out of the vehicle and pick a fight.
Clip: https://youtu.be/e8PAKyvBPPM?si=IfOCuz4l5vRLUyR4&t=498
4. The X-Files: Fight The Future
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Date Released |
June 19, 1998 |
|
Scene Location |
Blackwood County, Texas (fictional) |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully uncover a sinister conspiracy involving alien colonization of Earth. One of the iconic television series of the 1990s, The X-Files jumped from the small screen to the big screen in the summer of 1998. During the first act of the film, Texas firefighters wearing our First Due helmet arrive on scene just outside of Dallas to help rescue a boy who fell into a cave. I will stop there to avoid spoiling the rest of the movie for a fellow Phenix employee who is currently watching the show for the first time.
Clip: https://clip.cafe/the-x-files-1998/what-about-men/
5. The Kardashians
|
Episode |
Season 1, Episode 6 – “This is a Life or Death Situation” |
|
Date Aired |
May 19, 2022 |
|
Scene Location |
Los Angeles, California |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
In an early episode of Hulu’s “The Kardashians”, Kanye West arranges for his children to be picked up for school in a LAFD fire truck. The family members even try on a yellow and orange First Due helmet during the drive.
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGIL-tobKbg
This wasn’t the first time a First Due helmet has appeared in a Kardashian reality show. In a 2017 episode of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”, Kourtney Kardashian visited an LA County training center and wore a yellow First Due helmet.
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xItapMxHbI
6. Volcano
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Date Released |
April 25, 1997 |
|
Scene Location |
Los Angeles, California |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
A volcanic eruption beneath Los Angeles places thousands of residents in the path of a river of lava, a downpour of ash, and even falling flaming palm trees. In one memorable scene, Tommy Lee Jones’s character, Mike, works alongside firefighters wearing First Due helmets to save a man (and himself) from a lava field. Volcano was released the same year as Dante’s Peak, another volcanic disaster film. We’ll give the edge to Volcano for obvious reasons.
7. Ambulance
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Date Released |
April 8, 2022 |
|
Scene Location |
Los Angeles, California |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
After robbing a bank, two brothers hijack an ambulance while taking a paramedic and police officer hostage. Our First Due helmets are prominently displayed early in the movie when paramedic Camille, played by Eiza Gonzalez, arrives on scene of a horrific car accident to help rescue a young girl and her mother.
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOqpeVoCVWY
Honorable Mention: How It’s Made
|
Episode |
Season 29, Episode 4 – “Thermoplastic Fire Helmets…” |
|
Date Aired |
August 3, 2017 |
|
Scene Location |
Riverside, California |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
I know what you’re thinking – shameless plug. We were proud to welcome The Science Channel to our facility in 2017 to film an episode on our First Due helmet. For those of us fascinated by science, engineering, and manufacturing, this episode covered all bases to show the entire manufacturing process of a thermoplastic fire helmet. The episode starts with the raw material plastic beads being transformed into the iconic First Due shell and proceeds to follow the assembly team’s work to install all components, making it ready for the firefighter to wear for the first time.
8. End Of Watch
|
Date Released |
September 21, 2012 |
|
Scene Location |
Los Angeles, California |
|
Helmet(s) Shown |
First Due |
LAPD partners covering their beat in South Central accidentally become entangled in a deadly cartel investigation. Our First Due helmets are on display in a structure fire scene where the officers, played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, save two young children. The movie was praised for its use of “found footage” style filmmaking, which was previously used primarily in the horror genre, not crime thrillers.
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lytlR_59PE
9. S.W.A.T.
A sniper targets members of LAFD’s Station 127 after his wife and child were killed in a fire two years prior. The S.W.A.T. team is dispatched to the scene but cannot locate the sniper, learning that the sniper set up the dumpster fire to lure the firefighters to the location. You’ll notice our First Due helmet throughout the episode.
While we are proud to equip fictional Hollywood heroes with our helmets, we’re most proud to equip the men and women in the real world who put their life on the line every day to serve their communities. Movies, television, video games – they tell fantastical stories that point us to the real heroes in our lives. We’ll forgive Hollywood for the (many) errors made while attempting to portray the fire industry. We’ll forgive the unrealistic scenarios, the overdramatic reactions, and the questionable CGI too. If you’re watching a tv show or film and spot one of our helmets, send us a message or tag us on social media! It could end up on Part 2 in this blog!
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