NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 12
Dispatches
CULTURE
HOW NBC'S TEAR-JERKER SERIES "THIS IS US"
SPARKED A NATIONAL CONVERSATION ON FIRE
AND LIFE SAFETY-AND SLOW COOKERS
By Angelo Verzoni
ans of the New England Patriots
F
THAT'S A WRAP
"This Is Us" star Milo
Ventimiglia shared
a photo on Twitter
from the set of the
highly anticipated
February 4 episode,
which revealed
how his character,
Jack, dies after a
house fire.
weren't the only ones mourning on
the Monday after the Super Bowl.
Many more people around the
country were enduring sorrow of
their own after one of the main characters in the
hit NBC television series "This Is Us" died in an
episode that aired after the big game.
The timeline of the show is punctuated with
flashbacks, and earlier episodes had hinted that
Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia), the beloved TV
father of three, died in a house fire. Close, but not
quite-viewers learned in the February 4 episode
that Jack actually dies of a heart attack shortly
after a house fire, the result of inhaling a large
quantity of smoke while rescuing the family dog.
Cue the tears, which is what "This Is Us" has
been spectacularly successful at doing for two
seasons-the Washington Post described the show
as "a cathartic cry-fest about a family's complex
relationships." It's also an uncommon example of a
popular-culture phenomenon that intersects with
fire and life safety and provides organizations like
NFPA with opportunities to communicate important safety messages. Prior to the big reveal, "This
Is Us" brought some of those messages, including
the need to replace smoke alarm batteries and the
danger of going back into a burning building, into
the national spotlight. But the show also sparked
12 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A R C H /A P R I L 2 0 1 8
NECESSARY DISCUSSION
In an episode of "This Is Us" that aired in
mid-January, more than 10 million viewers
learned that Jack's death occurred shortly after
he and his wife forgot to replace the batteries in
one of their home's smoke alarms. The foreshadowing hit on a message that NFPA has promoted
for decades, and in a blog post the organization
lauded the show's decision to highlight the importance of replacing smoke alarm batteries.
Viewers and other fire safety experts agreed. "As
someone who lived through a house fire, I can say
that our smoke detectors notified all six of us plus
three pets to get out safely," one woman wrote on
Facebook. "Accidents happen and having a working interconnected system saved our lives."
"America loves the Pearson family, and watching them go through this tragedy because of [the]
lack of working smoke alarms and a home fire
escape plan should be a wakeup call to many,"
Summer Mahr, a public educator in Florida, wrote
in response to the NFPA blog. "It truly showed
what not to do in a fire. ... I am going to look for a
video clip of this episode to share at my future fire
safety presentations to stress the importance of
having a home fire escape plan."
MILO VENTIMIGLIA VIA T WITTER
THIS IS
SAFETY
an at times comical debate over slow cookers-
electrical cooking appliances that allow for the
unattended, hours-long cooking of dishes like pot
roast and chili.
On more than one occasion, NFPA was able to
bring its expertise to the nationwide conversation
over Jack's demise. "'This is Us' showed viewers how
characters' actions and oversights led to tragedy
and provides a powerful opportunity to talk about
what can be done to prevent fire fatalities in real
life," said Lorraine Carli, NFPA's vice president of
Outreach and Advocacy, in a press release the day
after Jack's death was aired. "Getting outside and
staying out once you've escaped a burning building
is among the most critical takeaways from the show.
If a person or pet is still trapped inside, tell the
firefighters where you think that person might be.
Never ever go back inside a burning building."
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - March/April 2018
Contents
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 1
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - Contents
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 3
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 4
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 5
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 6
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 7
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 8
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 9
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 10
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 11
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 12
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 13
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 14
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 15
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 16
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 17
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 18
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 19
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 20
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 21
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 22
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 23
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 24
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 25
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 26
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 27
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 28
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 29
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 30
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NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 41
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NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - Cover4
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