December 13, 1940 – The Donald Duck Short Film Fire Chief Premieres in Theaters
“So, they was trying to get something over on me.”
On December 13, 1940, the Donald Duck short film Fire Chief premiered in theaters. It was directed by Jack King.
Donald is sound asleep at his fire station, with his snoring waking his nephews. Irritated, they use their slingshots to hit the alarm, waking Donald and sending him flying to his fire truck. He almost starts the engine when he hears his nephews laughing, and realizes he’s been tricked. When he rushes back upstairs to reprimand them, he finds that they’re already asleep. Knowing that they’re just faking it, he decides to get them back, and blows a trumpet to call them to attention, and having them march in step. Unfortunately, as Donald is marching backwards, he falls right through the hole for the fireman’s pole. One of the nephews, not paying attention, crashes into the other two, and all three fall down the hole on top of Donald. He soon sends them to their posts, although he is very critical of the way one of them places coal in the fire. When Donald dumps all the coal in the boiler, the fire becomes intense to the point where the ceiling catches fire, and the alarm sounds. Unaware that it is his own building that it on fire, Donald readies his team. The nephews try to tell Donald that the fire house is on fire, but Donald doesn’t notices until he’s already halfway down the street.
Donald rushes back to the fire at his own station, only to get stuck in the horn after he comes to a sudden stop
When Donald makes it back, he gets stuck in the horn, until his nephews get him out. He gets on the ladder and tells the boys to send him up, and they send him up so fast that the ladder disconnects, and Donald is sent high into the sky. He falls to the ground, and the boys are ready with the net, but Donald falls through the chimney of the fire station and into the stove. Donald continues to sound the alarm, and the boys work to put out the fire while Donald stays stuck in the stove. Donald finally manages to break free, but runs into more trouble with the fire house, which ends up knotted and building up behind him. The hose bursts from the water and the pressure, sending Donald flying into a bicycle store. He makes his way back and attempts to take over, although he mistakenly attaches the fire hose to a gasoline pump rather than the fire hydrant. The boys make a run for it, and Donald burns the firehouse, his fire truck, and his helmet to the ground.
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