Who you gonna call? | West Chester Fire Department

If there’s something weird, and it don’t look good, who you gonna call? Firefighters!

As national Fire Prevention Month draws to a close, the West Chester Fire Department reminds residents that local experts are just a phone call away.

“Pick up the phone and call the professionals,” is the potentially lifesaving message at the heart of a new public service announcement video from fire officials in West Chester Township. The 48-second spot is a lighthearted parody of a scene from the 1984 blockbuster, Ghostbusters.

“We wanted to deliver a serious message in a fun way that might resonate with pop culture enthusiasts and generations of adults who are children of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,” said Fire Chief Rick Prinz.

The release of the video was timed to coincide with Halloween in October, a month typically earmarked for fire safety and awareness efforts. Fire Prevention Week in the US was observed Oct. 6-12, 2019.

In the parody video, Chief Prinz plays the character of Ghostbuster Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd). His co-stars, Assistant Chief Dave Pickering and Lieutenant Randy Hanifen, play Ghostbusters Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) respectively.

The inspiration for the fire safety PSA comes from an early scene in the original movie in which Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) sees a commercial on TV for “supernatural elimination” services advertised by the Ghostbusters. The intentionally anachronistic PSA features classic interlacing scan lines, graphics and picture quality reminiscent of the era.

“Much like the fictional heroes in the film, the highly trained firefighter/paramedics and support staff at West Chester Fire Department are ready to answer the call from residents and community stakeholders with fire-related and health safety questions that they may not otherwise know who to ask,” Prinz said.

Fire officials in West Chester encourage, and regularly answer, questions on topics including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, CPR and first aid certification, fire extinguisher training, educational community programming, and much more.

On average, West Chester Fire Department reaches upward of 20,000 people per year through outreach programs, speaking engagements and training activities. To connect, visit WestChesterOH.org or dial the Fire Headquarters number at [phone].