Fire department’s appearance in hip hop video raises questions
(Thanks to Dennis Symons for sending this to STATter911.com.)
In Hightstown, New Jersey the appearance of the local fire department in a hip hop video is raising questions. The complaint, according to Kevin Shea at NJ.com, came from Douglas Mair, a citizen who was a 2014 candidate for mayor (I am guess he lost because no one wanted to go around saying Mayor Mair). The current mayor confirms the town is looking into the complaint.
The song, above, is called “IDK.” The artist is Elite Motivated. The director and an actor in the video is Hightstown resident Patrick Byas, who has appeared in the TV shows “Blue Bloods” and “Blacklist.”
Mair’s complaint is that the video didn’t create a positive image for Hightstown, something Patrick Byas disagrees with.
“He’s a volunteer chief, the taxpayers own the property and that is borough equipment (the trucks),” Mair said.
Noting the borough recently took delivery one of the trucks – a ladder truck known as Ladder 41 – at a cost of nearly $1 million, Mair said: “We want this fire truck to save lives, not be in videos.”
“It’s really poor judgement,” he said.
Some volunteer firefighters vouched for Byas and the shoot did not impact the town or take very long. The firefighters simply pulled out the trucks for a short time, he said.
