Throughout the trailer for the upcoming CBS drama series, “Fire Country,” the words Cal Fire are written on fire trucks, uniforms, shirts and paperwork.
But Joe Tyler, director and 31-year veteran of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), wants Cal Fire staff to know that the department is not affiliated in any way with the television show.
Tyler released a statement this week that was distributed department wide saying that Cal Fire, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Cal Fire Local 2881, an affiliate of the International Association of Firefighters that represents over 7,000 current and retired Cal Fire employees, had no involvement with the series. Moreover, Tyler criticized the show’s depiction of firefighters.