Other segments include Rick Smith, a firefighter in Ipswich, Mass., who tells of helplessness after arriving at a fire with an undermanned fire truck and being unable to save a mother and child. Michael Perry, a volunteer firefighter in New Auburn, Wis., discusses firefighters' heroism.

The main point of the film, explained Charles M. Kavitsky, chief executive officer of the Novato, Calif.-based carrier–a unit of German insurer Allianz Group–is to make people aware of the sacrifices firefighters make and the need to adequately equip every station with sufficient manpower and equipment.

“The movie's aim is to get the word out about the need for equipment, the need for funding, the need for help; the bravery that exists; the uniqueness of what they do; why they are respected and trusted,” said Mr. Kavitsky.

“This [movie] is what I feel we owe them,” he added. “We want to get the message out that there are fire services that are ill-equipped, and it is mind blowing to find out what they don't have.”

“Every 78 hours a fireman loses his or her life in the line of duty,” he noted. “Through our efforts, we hope to make it safer for them, and safer for us, because they can save buildings, save property and save lives.”

Mr. Kavitsky said the work his company is doing to help support firefighters coincides with a branding effort that harks back to the company's mission when it was founded more than 140 years ago.

At the time it was established, one of the purposes of the carrier was to provide a portion of its profits to the widows and orphans of those lost in the firefighting service–a program the company eventually discontinued.

“What the fire service does is protect life and property,” said Darryl Siry, the company's chief marketing officer. “To market ourselves with that service resonates with our customers and makes sense with our business.”

In 2004, the carrier founded its Fireman's Fund Heritage Program with a $500,000 grant to San Diego County, Calif.-area fire departments. So far the program has given away $10.5 million in grants, and is accelerating, said Mr. Kavitsky.

“[In marketing] it's too easy to look for something superficial,” he said. “It only works if you really mean it. It has to be real to our customers,” he added, noting that the program is a long-term commitment to fire service.

Heritage Program funds have gone to the purchase of thermal-imaging cameras, self-contained breathing apparatus, fire shelters, radios, defibrillators, trucks, education programs and other essentials for the fire fighter service.