Reality show Fire Dogs filmed in the Upstate

Boiling Springs Fire Department got on board with a new reality show, showing a first person look at the life of a firefighter. The brains of the operation were two Upstate guys. 

Jim Hayes and David Sijon dreamed of doing a reality show on firefighters showing a first hand account of what they do, and what was a dream turned into a reality. "It was way beyond what we thought, you see things on TV and on the news, but when you are standing there and you can smell the smoke and feel the heat and hear all the noises the pops and crackles it just puts goose bumps all over you and you just think wow this is unbelievable," Hayes said.

Hayes and Sijon worked with Boiling Springs Fire Department to capture their jobs.

"I think my hesitation was I am a nerd and I didn't want that to come out on camera, but I guess you saw," firefighter Katrina De La Cruz said. You see the quirks of  De La Cruz but you also see the dramatic scenes of rolling up on a fully engulfed fire. "When I saw the trailer that they did and they turned the corner they were in the truck with us and that was what they really saw," Lieutenant Josh Devore described. He hopes this experience gives the community an insight to their lives.

Hayes and Sijon have about 40 hours of raw footage. "We did some ground breaking things and mounted helmet cameras on them to put the viewer in first person. It truly does put the person in first person the viewer, because they can hear the breathing of the tank and see the arms and legs in action, every where the firefighter looks it's like you are there seeing it yourself," Sijon said.

The team put together a trailer and named the reality show Fire Dogs. "Fireman and the initials F.D. and a dog is very tenacious and very protective and if something approaches on his territory. He's going to go back again and again it won't quit until it protects it's owner. Fireman are the same way you get on a scene you can't quit you can't go home until the job is done," Hayes described when thinking of the name for the show.

They also went with the fire department to New York City to Ground Zero. Where they actually picked up a piece of one of the fallen towers, and brought it back to South Carolina. A piece that took them two years to acquire. "It is an honor to have that display everyone in some shape or form was effected, my dad is in the military so to have that here is just an honor to be here for the community," De La Cruz explained.

"We were filming the firefighters interacting at ground zero and the memorial area and with other firefighters there and bring that to the camera and show them," Sijon described when they were in New York filming. His partner Haynes felt the same way. "That was a very touching experience to see the devastation to see what they experienced there during all of that, one station only have a hand full of their original members, because they were lost in the Trade Center. It was very emotional but at the same time it was very rewarding I would not have missed that experience for the world," Hayes said.

Now it's time for the networks to catch on this piece of work. Hayes and Sijon are hoping this gets picked up and becomes a national reality show.

For all those right here in the Upstate you can actually go to Boiling Springs Fire Department and see the piece from Ground Zero on display. They also have fire boots set out for donations to help build a memorial to place the steel beam on.

To see the entire trailer go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbP26Dvplqs. You can also find them on Facebook, go on and 'Like' the page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fire-Dogs/157057247694550?ref=ts&sk=wall.