Backdraft (1991)

Robert De Niro: Donald Rimgale

Photos 

Quotes 

• Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : In a word, Brian, what is this job all about?

  Firefighter Brian McCaffrey : Fire.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : It's a living thing, Brian. It breathes, it eats, and it hates. The only way to beat it is to think like it. To know that this flame will spread this way across the door and up across the ceiling, not because of the physics of flammable liquids, but because it wants to. Some guys on this job, the fire owns them, makes 'em fight it on it's level, but the only way to truly kill it is to love it a little. Just like Ronald.

• Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : [at Ronald's parole hearing]  What about the world, Ronald? What would you like to do to the whole world?

  Ronald Bartel : Burn it all.

  [laughs] 

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : See you next year, Ronald.

• [Rimgale and Brian McCaffrey in the morgue with the medical examiner] 

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : McCaffrey, come on over and give us a hand.

  Firefighter Brian McCaffrey : No, I don't think so. Not in my contract.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : [Throwing medical gloves at him]  I just rewrote your contract. Come give us a hand.

• [Rimgale and Brian crash Alderman Swayzak's press conference] 

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : These detectives would like to question you on how come you paid Donald Cosgrove, Jeffrey Holcum and Allan Seagrave to create a phony manpower study!

  [throws the files at the media, resulting in a barrage of questions] 

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : [to the media]  Ask him who made money off firemen dying!

• Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : Let's go.

  Firefighter Brian McCaffrey : Where we going?

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : Pest control.

• Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : So stop me if I got this wrong. Now the fire is almost out, you're upstairs on the unburned floor checking for heat, is that correct? And you've been told by your Battalion Chief, your Captain and by me not to do nothin', right? Not to do nothin' until ordered. That's correct, right?

  Probie : Yes, sir.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : Ok. But now the itch starts. The 'Glory Boy' flash starts. 'Hey, I'm a hero. Heroes don't just stand around.' You can tell me, that's what it was, wasn't it?

  Probie : Yes, sir.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : So you punched out a window for ventilation. Was that before or after you noticed you were standing in a lake of gasoline?

  [shouting] 

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : Was that BEFORE OR AFTER you noticed you were standing in a lake of GASOLINE, YOU IDIOT?

  Probie : Before, sir.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : You could have burned or killed or crispened half that company! To say nothing of the fact that you wrecked the physical evidence that I use to prove that it's arson, and you know how goddamned hard it is to determine the cause of these fires! Now you go home and you think about that!

• Ricco, Pathologist : Now on a lucky shot, we picked up something, what was it...? Trychtichlorate.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : Oh, yeah, trychtichlorate. Needs magnesium. It's pretty rare. They stopped making it a couple of years ago.

  Ricco, Pathologist : We figured it probably got on his clothes in a gas state from the fire.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : What was it doing in the fire?

  Ricco, Pathologist : That's your job.

• Jennifer Vaitkus : We believe you're holding back on us, to embarrass the Alderman because of his fire department cutbacks.

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : Alderman, I have an uncomplicated job: To determine if a fire is arson or not, and if so, to catch the son of a bitch doing it. And if my investigative methods happen to muck up the campaign of certain mayor wannabes, I gotta tell ya... I'm not gonna go losing any sleep over it.

• Alderman Marty Swayzak : When are you catch the prick who's doing this, Don?

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : Don?

  Alderman Marty Swayzak : Don't you have any leads?

  Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale : No, *Marty*, I don't.