HEATHER CASEY
Contributing Writer

Tim Donnelly, "Emergency!"'s Fireman Chet Kelly, said his favorite memory from doing the show is of working with the cast. "It was a lot of fun - good camaraderie, good people," Donnelly said. "They were all such great guys. We were like a little family."

Photo Courtesy John McMahon Tim talks with one of many fans at EMERGENCY! Fest activities

Donnelly actually did get to work with one family member on the set, his brother Dennis, who directed about 35 of the episodes.

It was a while before the cast realized how big an impact the show would have.

"It took a few years before we knew what we were doing for the country," Donnelly said. At first, "It was just a job. We were all actors, and when you're an actor, you get an interview and you go for it." The reason he got onto the show, Donnelly said, is because he had already been on several episodes of "Dragnet," also produced by Jack Webb, so when "Emergency!" came up he automatically got an interview.

"We saw some importance in the show the longer we were on it," Donnelly said, because fans began writing to say they'd been inspired to become firemen and paramedics, or that they had just saved a family member's life after learning CPR.

"Emergency!" also made an impact by showing a lot of the latest rescue gear. "It was like an advertisement for equipment," Donnelly said. Many fire and rescue stations were upgraded as workers saw new tools, such as the "jaws of life," debut on the show.

After "Emergency!" Donnelly did a couple of movies, "The Toolbox Murders" (1978) and "The Clonus Horror" (1979), and several other projects. He is now living in the Los Angeles area and is working as a set painter for movies like Clint Eastwood's upcoming "Space Cowboy." His real passion, however, is writing. "The only reason I paint is because I have a daughter in college," Donnelly said. Once she's finished with school he wants to stop painting and just write. He is currently trying to get a low-budget feature off the ground and is working on an idea for a television show.

Donnelly still gets about 20 fan letters a month, he said, from both viewers from the 70s and new viewers who are just now seeing the show on Nickelodeon.