Produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, The Fireman is a 1954 educational documentary that gives viewers an overview of a typical work day for the 1950s American fireman. The film opens with a shot of a fire engine driving down a residential street from the perspective of the engine. Fireman Tom Briggs leaves his car (00:22) and walks into Station 1 of the Evanston Fire Department. He passes the fire engines and lines up for inspection with the other firemen. The Fire Marshall reviews the men (00:56). Tom is taken to an aerial ladder truck (01:15). Other men clean and maintain the fire engines. The aerial ladder is extended (02:00) as the firemen practice using it. Firemen carry hand ladders into position. A fire hose is hoisted up to the top of a roof using a hose roller (02:51). A fireman practices carrying out an unconscious person (03:19); oxygen is administered to the “victim.” Firemen practice saving people with a life net (03:45); a man jumps from a building onto the life net. With training over, it is time for the real thing. Firemen slide down the firepole (04:23) to the engines as the fire alarm sounds throughout the station; the men don their gear and board the trucks. The film then shows the fire engines pull out of the station (04:48). They soon arrive at the site of the fire (06:17) and unload hand ladders. A fireman connects a hose to a fire hydrant (06:51). An engineer gets the pumps operating (07:05) so the fire hoses become operational. A fireman atop the ladder sprays water from the firehose into the house (07:34). Firemen climb the aerial ladder to the roof of the house (07:50), where they chop a hole in the roof to let heat out. Firemen with smoke masks enter the home (08:41) then come back out once the fire is out; one fireman saves the little girl’s kitten. The aerial ladder is retracted and put away (09:10), hoses are rolled up, and the fire engines pull away from the house and head back to the station.

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