
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 11, 1994                   TAG: 9409120038
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KATHLEEN WILSON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FIT TO BE TIED

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, isn't it, men? Be it advertising on Madison Avenue or the stock market on Wall Street, every day is life and death, huh?

For the men who work C shift at Fire Station 2 on Noble Avenue in Northeast Roanoke, life's a little like that, too. Don't you think?

So when we went looking for men to show off the latest in this season's neckwear, we didn't want bankers.

We wanted real professionals.

Most of all, we didn't want models.

``But we are model fireman,'' argued Lewie Kennett.

For us, they donned dress white shirts, neckties and the gawd-awful-hot bottom half of the uniform they wear when they fight fires.

On a day the temperatures were in the mid-90s.

``It's not easy being a sex symbol,'' Lewie learned as the shoot lasted an hour.

Billy Obenchain figured we couldn't have picked an uglier bunch of guys, but caught flack from his crew for that remark.

Betcha never knew what fireman wore underneath those big heavy jackets when they're out risking their lives for yours.

by CNB