California-based Fireman's Fund has gone into the movie businessas part of a marketing effort as well as a campaign to secure moresupport for the nation's fire departments.

The History Channel debuted “Into the Fire”–a documentary onfirefighters directed by Bill Couturie? and underwritten byFireman's Fund–on Oct. 13, with another airing set for Oct. 22.

Through interviews with more than a dozen firefighters, mixedwith footage from actual fire scenes, it tells the story of thejoys, thrills, boredom and pain they experience while serving theircommunities.

In the film, Tomi Rucker, a Washington, D.C. firefighter,discusses her experience as a rookie and what she and her crew wentthrough as they fought fires at the Pentagon after the Sept. 11,2001 terrorist attack.

Other segments include Rick Smith, a firefighter in Ipswich,Mass., who tells of helplessness after arriving at a fire with anundermanned fire truck and being unable to save a mother and child.Michael Perry, a volunteer firefighter in New Auburn, Wis.,discusses firefighters' heroism.

The main point of the film, explained Charles M. Kavitsky, chiefexecutive officer of the Novato, Calif.-based carrier–a unit ofGerman insurer Allianz Group–is to make people aware of thesacrifices firefighters make and the need to adequately equip everystation with sufficient manpower and equipment.

“The movie's aim is to get the word out about the need forequipment, the need for funding, the need for help; the braverythat exists; the uniqueness of what they do; why they are respectedand trusted,” said Mr. Kavitsky.

“This [movie] is what I feel we owe them,” he added. “We want toget the message out that there are fire services that areill-equipped, and it is mind blowing to find out what they don'thave.”

“Every 78 hours a fireman loses his or her life in the line ofduty,” he noted. “Through our efforts, we hope to make it safer forthem, and safer for us, because they can save buildings, saveproperty and save lives.”

Mr. Kavitsky said the work his company is doing to help supportfirefighters coincides with a branding effort that harks back tothe company's mission when it was founded more than 140 yearsago.

At the time it was established, one of the purposes of thecarrier was to provide a portion of its profits to the widows andorphans of those lost in the firefighting service–a program thecompany eventually discontinued.

“What the fire service does is protect life and property,” saidDarryl Siry, the company's chief marketing officer. “To marketourselves with that service resonates with our customers and makessense with our business.”

In 2004, the carrier founded its Fireman's Fund Heritage Programwith a $500,000 grant to San Diego County, Calif.-area firedepartments. So far the program has given away $10.5 million ingrants, and is accelerating, said Mr. Kavitsky.

“[In marketing] it's too easy to look for somethingsuperficial,” he said. “It only works if you really mean it. It hasto be real to our customers,” he added, noting that the program isa long-term commitment to fire service.

Heritage Program funds have gone to the purchase ofthermal-imaging cameras, self-contained breathing apparatus, fireshelters, radios, defibrillators, trucks, education programs andother essentials for the fire fighter service.