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Film about Detroit Firefighters to be shown in Atlantic

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April 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A film that documents the dangers faced by one of the busiest fire fighting units in America will be showing in theaters across Iowa this month (April), including here in Atlantic. “BURN” follows Detroit’s Engine Company 50 as they battle both fires and city hall. John Jensen, a Des Moines firefighter who helped organize screenings of the film in a dozen Iowa cities, says Detroit has one of the highest arson rates in the world. “The economic downturn has left all these houses and buildings (in Detroit) abandoned and there’s people just going around setting them on fire,” Jensen says. “They have 500 structure fires a month.”

The firefighters in Detroit are put at an even greater risk due to a lack of funding and broken down equipment. Jensen film saw “BURN” while attending a conference in Phoenix. “It was very inspiring to me because, in the movie, one of the (firefighters) is injured in a wall collapse and he becomes paralyzed. They follow him through his rehab,” Jensen said. “It hit me right in the heart.”

Tickets to see “BURN” at theatres in Iowa are $15. A portion of the profits from the film will go the Leary Firefighters Foundation, an organization founded by actor Dennis Leary which purchases new equipment for firefighters. The film will be shown in Atlantic on April 24th and 25th, beginning at 7:30-p.m.

(Radio Iowa)