Trivia
Many of the extras in the film are actual Chicago firefighters. A casting call was put out in a Department memo prior to the start of shooting. In addition, many suburban firemen participated in the funeral procession.
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Robert De Niro's character, Don Rimgale, is a real arson investigator with the Chicago Fire Dept's Office of Fire Investigation. Don Rimgale also appears in the movie.
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There are three arson victims, Donald Cosgrove, Alan Seagrave, and Jeffrey Holcomb. Cosgrove is after the real life Chicago Fireman/Author William Cosgrove who served as Robert De Niro's technical advisor for the movie. Seagrave is the name of a fire apparatus (fire and ladder truck) manufacturer. The firehouse where Engine 17 and Truck 46 were quartered is the real, in-service firehouse of the Chicago Fire dept's Engine 65 and Truck 52.
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The numbers of the fire companies are all "dead" numbers in the Chicago Fire Dept. Engine 17, Truck 46, Engine 24, Truck 6 (now back in service as of March of 2004), & Engine 33, (referred to, not actually seen in the movie), are all out of service. The Chicago Fire Dept. has 24 battalions, battalion 25 was created for the movie.
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The production company totally refurbished 6 pieces of fire apparatus, and upon completion of filming, donated 5 of them to the Chicago Fire Dept., who used 4 of them as front line equipment for several years, and one as a spare. The only one that was not donated to the city was the truck that was flipped over, which was totaled for that shot.
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Much of the soundtrack was later used for the Japanese cooking show, Iron Chef, AKA "Iron Chef".
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Following tradition, Ron Howard cast his brother Clint Howard in this movie. Clint plays Ricco the pathologist.
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The photos of firefighters seen on the walls of the investigators office are of the Los Angeles Country fire fighters who were on scene during the filming of the fire scenes as a precautionary measure.
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After reading the film's script, Jennifer Jason Leigh reportedly told director Ron Howard that she wished she was the fire because it has the best part.
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To draw audiences into the intensity of real fire, a cameraman was outfitted in fire-proof suit and wandered through the flames with a hand-held camera.
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In an interesting twist of fate, Brad Pitt lost out on the role of Brian McCaffrey in Backdraft to William Baldwin, who then had to be released from his contract to play the small part of J. D. in Thelma & Louise that was re-cast with Brad Pitt.
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The film's screenwriter, Gregory Widen, was a firefighter for three years before becoming a screenwriter. The film's basis is based upon the death of a friend in an actual backdraft.
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The iconic promotional image of the fireman's silhouette emerging from a fiery doorway appears on Firefighter License Plates issued in the state of California.
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Kurt Russell, Scott Glenn, and William Baldwin did a lot of their own stunts, and the Stunt Coordinator Walter Scott was so impressed by their performances, that he credited them as stunt performers in the credits.
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In the television version of the movie, there is an extra scene where the firefighters go to a widow of a deceased firefighter to help her with her house.
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The firehouse where Rimgale's office was located is in the heart of Chinatown at the corner of Wentworth and Cermak Avenues.
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The Fire Engine 17 used in the movie was purchased by a Volunteer EMS/Fire company in North Eastern PA and is currently under renovations to restore it back to active duty as a first due unit after several years of storage.
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The Hans Zimmer score heard during the final scene of the movie can not be found on the official soundtrack. It is however on the album 'Passions And Achievements: A 20-Year Retrospective Of Soundtracks From The Films Of Director Ron Howard"'.
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During the boat party, Alderman Swayzak (J.T. Walsh) asks his aide Jennifer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who a guest is, and she says the man's name is DeWaay. Larry DeWaay is a co-producer for Backdraft.
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