Dutchess Co Fire Department makes their television debut

[TRUCK6018 50]

RHINEBECK - Seen anyone you know on television recently?

 

It seems the newest pitchmen and women on the tube have been starring in dramas right here in our own backyard for years. 

A national spot for Maxwell House coffee features members of the Rhinebeck Fire Department, a volunteer service organization headquartered on East Market Street in the Village of Rhinebeck.

The firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians who respond to calls throughout the year are also teachers, students, business owners and civic leaders in town, but took a day or two out of their increasingly busy schedules in February to shoot the 30-second commercial.

"Apparently, a couple of different people were pitching different ads to the company," said Chief Kyle Eighmy. "We had no idea if it would even be used."

It was, and it has turned the volunteers at Rhinebeck into seemingly national celebrities.

"A friend of mine who is in the U.S. Coast Guard and is stationed in Alaska called to say he saw me," said Eric Markel, a 2000 graduate of Red Hook High School who has been with the company for just over a year.

Around the station, members have taken to calling Markel "Hollywood" since his distinct appearance in the spot, climbing into one of the pumper engines used by the company.

"We joke that he's not really a firefighter, he just plays one on T.V.," said Ken Tompkins, a veteran in the department who is also a member of Rhinebeck's Town Council.

Words to live by

The spot, which includes scenes both in and outside of the fire house, features members of the company signing alternate lyrics to the popular 1980s tune "Our House (In the Middle of Our Street)" by Madness. The commercial ends with the volunteers reciting the brand's famous catch-phrase, urging consumers to "make your house a Maxwell House."

Janice Argenti was among the 20 or so to appear in the exterior shot which showed members in the dress uniforms in front of headquarters.

On the chilly February day of filming, the volunteers sang the jingle in about 15 consecutive takes as their mugs where filled and re-filled with, presumably, Maxwell House coffee.

"It was a lot of fun, but I still haven't got those words out of my head," said Argenti. "My kids even go around singing it." 

Argenti, Tompkins and others noted that on top of getting stopped on the street or at work by people wanting to know if that's "really the Rhinebeck Fire Department," calls have been coming into the station and the volunteers' homes from all over.

"There was a shot of me in one of my gear jackets that has my name on it," said Argenti. "My sister and brother in Florida called to say they saw me. They were so excited."

"Florida, California, Oklahoma, you name it," said Eighmy. "There are people from all over who are affiliated with Rhinebeck or the fire company who have told us how great they think it is."

The volunteers fielded that same question more than a couple times this past weekend, when the company hosted a pancake breakfast at its headquarters, inviting the public to stop in Sunday morning for a home-cooked meal and some time with friends.

"We don't consider it a fundraiser as much as a service back to the community for all of their generosity and support," said Eighmy. Sunday's event was a former tradition resurrected this year by the company. 

"This is the second one we've done this year, and they've both been successful. We will probably have a couple more in the fall."

The event does, of course, provide additional funding for the department, which is serviced entirely by volunteer labor and was responsible for responding to more than 335 calls between Jan. 1, 2005 and April 30, 2005.

The commercial has certainly raised awareness - ABC7 news out of New York City will be coming to Rhinebeck to do a feature on the company - but, by and large, it's still business as usual.

"You take it in stride, ultimately we still have one focus," said Tompkins. "But I do think it's been great not just for the fire department, but for the community as a whole."

©Gazette Advertiser 2005 

[WAS967 97]

Yah. Saw that on TV the other night and was wondeirng if it was Rhinebeck NY. Apparently it was. They looked pretty good. =D>