Allan de la Plante DTM

De la Plante feels as close to this book as any project that he has experienced or endured.  The collection of the material was tough, the friends made were many.  De la Plante spent six months on the road working 24 hours a day.  He took only four days off for Christmas.  The journey started in Ottawa where he headed east.  After his first night in a hall and a late-night-baptism of horror in New Brunswick he drove to the next night's excitment that also had plenty of horror.  When he reached the Atlantic in St. Johns, Newfoundland, he turned tail and lit out for the Pacific.  Each day was much like the one before it.  He got up after a night chasing 'the beast' and every car accident and medical call that came into the hall he was staying at.  He rode on the rigs with the responders as they attended each call.  In the morning he had breakfast with the new crew and told them about the book he was researching.  Many he was sure doubted the book would actually happen.  When he left for the next hall in some far-away town he was usually exhausted and needed to pull over to the side of the road, put the seat down and try to get some much needed rest.   His mind seldom rested.  When he hit Victoria he again turned around and headed east and home outside Ottawa.  He had stopped in Winnipeg on his way west.  He stayed in the same hall with the same crew on his way back east.  They knew he had changed.  He was beaten up by the distress he had witnessed.  He still had Ontario and Quebec to finish to be able to tell the story.  His images tell this story.  The words are transcripts of convervations and stories he was told by firefighters in the kitchens of firehalls across Canada.

Flame of Courage has been a wonderful success with over 46,000 copies out there world-wide.  If you don't have one, there are still a few copies at the original $40.00 each.  Contact Allan for a copy.