Fired-up filming

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A friendly rivalry between two longtime pals is responsible for bringing the Yakima Fire Department into over 25 million homes this weekend.

But, this is in a good way.

The department's day-to-day training exercises will be chronicled on television on the weekly hunting show "The Fowl Life." The program airs nationally on the Sportsman Channel.

Here's the story.

Yakima Fire Lt. Alex Langbell, 42, and television host Chad Belding, 35, met six years ago at a Tri-Cities waterfowl convention. They quickly bonded over their mutual love of hunting and the outdoors.

When not fighting fires, Langbell had been producing his own hunting videos and the Nevada-native Belding saw the opportunity to take the budding producer under his wing. Soon, Langbell's videos were being sold in Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabela's stores around the United States and Canada.

In June 2008, Belding approached his friend about creating their own production company. Langbell readily agreed and Banded Productions -- named after the practice of marking waterfowl for research purposes -- was born.

The friends, along with another producer, filmed a pilot and began shopping around for sponsors. Toyota soon jumped onboard and just a year after their initial idea, the first of 13 episodes premiered.

While the 14-year veteran Langbell kept his regular job, Belding would always give him a hard time about being a firefighter.

"He'd joke that I'd be sitting
around all day watching 'Backdraft' with Kurt Russell, petting my Dalmatian," Langbell said. "So I said, let's put your money where your mouth is."

Belding always envisioned "A Fowl Life" being more of a lifestyle show than strictly a hunting program, so the opportunity to produce 2- to 3-minute commercial lead-in segments about an important way of life was perfect.

While filming a Canadian goose hunt in Ice Harbor, Wash., Belding took his friend up on the challenge. Days later, he was rappelling down building faces and battling 1,200-degree controlled blazes.

"It shed a new light on it and gave me a totally newfound respect for these guys," he said.

Langbell took his friend out to Station 95, the department's training center at 807 E. Nob Hill Blvd., where the two participated in situational simulations. Belding struggled to control the Jaws of Life and found himself a little shaky up a 102-foot ladder in breezy conditions.

"I can't imagine the pressure they are under," he said. "I look at 'em and think, 'You gotta be kidding me.'"

The training concluded with Belding leading a water hose team into a propane-fueled burn room. Three cameras, including one on Belding, captured the action.

Despite being an asthmatic, "Chad did very well and picked things up quickly," Langbell said.

In the end, Langbell said he's glad his friend was able to walk a day in his boots while bringing Yakima to a national stage.

"It gives good light to the city of Yakima and the fire service in general," he said.

But, Langbell admits it was also a golden opportunity to silence his hotdogging hunting buddy.

"It was really satisfying to see it open up his eyes," he said.

The first episode aired last weekend, but a rerun will show at 6:30 a.m. today and at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The second episode will air July 24 and 25 at the same times. The Sportsman Channel is channel 417 for Charter customers, channel 395 on Dish Network and channel 605 on DirecTV.

* Ryan Ricigliano can be reached at 509-577-7626 or rricigliano@yakimaherald.com.