Glendale firefighters are ‘Heroes at Heart’ in a new ad campaign

It begins with a door rolling up to reveal an idling fire engine, inspirational music plays as a series of shots flash by quickly, showing firefighters tackling a building consumed by flames.

At the same time, a man’s voice breaks in to talk about what it takes to be a firefighter.

“I think to be a good firefighter, you have to put the needs of others before your own,” he says.

He’s then revealed to be Silvio Lanzas, chief of the Glendale Fire Department. He and several of the department’s firefighters are part of a new national ad campaign put out by the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

The one-minute ad is promoting the company’s Heroes at Heart campaign, where $1 from every special bag of coffee or tea will be donated to several charities benefiting first responders.

Two of the charities include the California Fire Foundation and the California Police Officers Memorial Foundation.

According to the company, the ad will run on various platforms through July 7.

Last year’s campaign raised more than $65,000 that went to several charities, according to a company statement.

Anita Shandi, a Glendale fire spokeswoman, said the department first partnered with the company a year ago when the Heroes at Heart campaign was initially launched. Back then, it was a simple local media event held at the Coffee Bean location at 101 E. Glenoaks Blvd.

When the company contacted the department for this year’s campaign, its representatives proposed a full-blown commercial that would air nationally.

“We were humbled to be asked to be a part of the Coffee Bean Heroes at Heart campaign,” Shandi said. “They could have chosen any fire department in the nation, and they chose us.”

In addition to Lanzas, the video features battalion chiefs Cody Smith, Jeff Ragusa and Chris Stavros, fire captains Gabe Vaca and Rudy Woody, fire engineers Matthew Safranek and Jason Bess and firefighters Sarah Craig and Spencer Hammond.

As the ad continues, it shows local firefighters during their shifts and features snippets of narrations from them as they talk about the jobs.

“The people in my crew are ready to risk their lives for somebody they never met,” one firefighter says. Another immediately follows up, saying they’re “all willing to pay that price.”