FISHERS — When there's a problem to solve, you can count on first responders to come to the rescue.
So when two Fishers firefighters saw some old fire hose on the bay floor, set to travel to a landfill, they put their helmets together to come up with a creative solution.
Rob Demlow has been fighting fires in his Fishers community for 19 years.
"The first airway that I held open, it was almost like, I knew where I was supposed to be," said Demlow. "It was almost like a God moment."
His passion for serving his community is on display each time an alarm sounds when he is on duty.
"My job and my place was kind of set at that point," Demlow said.
For his longtime friend and firefighting brother, Scott Carr, being a firefighter was in his blood. He has served his Fishers neighbors with pride for the past 24 years.
Everybody loves the adrenaline of the job when the bells drop," said Carr. "Probably one of the best things, whenever I do retire is, I will miss the camaraderie around the table with all the guys."
Carr and Demlow were known to take on projects around the firehouse in their down time on shift.
They explain that fire hoses are put through pressure tests to make sure they can handle the job. When they fail those tests, they are thrown away and usually head to a landfill.
Which is why when they saw an old fire hose sitting on their bay floor, they tried to think of another way to give life to a tool used to save so many lives.
"And that is what started it," said Demlow about their new business venture, Brotherhood Designs, LLC.
Carr and Demlow took the old fire hose, attached it to a wood backing, painted it and cut out stars making a unique and giant American flag for their firehouse.
"Instead of throwing this away," said Carr. "Let's do something cool with it."
That was back in 2018. The friends worked to perfect their design and have since made some changes after that first flag.
Now they separate the inner jacket of the hose from the outer soft layer. The outer layer can lay more flat and it used to make the actual flag, and now they use the inner jacket for another purpose.
Brotherhood Designs became an official business in 2022. They partner with zoos, exotic feline rescue organizations and now a sanctuary for chimpanzees to utilize the inner jacket for hammocks for animals.
The pair receives donated, old fire hose from Fishers Fire Department, as well as departments across the Hoosier state from up in South Bend down to New Albany.
They've even received hose from FDNY in New York.
Each flag is unique, and they have two sizes customers can choose from, as they are each made to order.
They currently have 68 flags across the country with several in local bars and restaurants near Fishers, but also several on Broadway in Nashville, TN. Carr and Demlow says it is one of their favorite spots to visit on vacation to enjoy live music.
They even met up with country music legend John Rich to give him a flag for his bar on Broadway.
"We didn't realize what we were doing was artistic," said Demlow.
The business not only serves as an artistic outlet, but also to help the environment by finding new uses for old hoses.
WRTV met up with the friends at Parks Place Pub in Fishers where one of their flags is on display.
"So its nice seeing that, seeing that finished product of the two of us doing that," said Carr. "And then seeing the buzz around everybody, ya know, coming in and taking pictures with it."
The pair hope to give back to businesses who support them through the #FishersFlagCrawl campaign.
To participate, you can visit the local establishments with their flags, take a picture and post it on social media. All the details can be found at https://www.brotherhooddesigns.net/fishersflagcrawl
There is also a flag crawl for Nashville, TN on their website.
They will send you a free shirt if you complete all of the steps in the flag crawl listed on their website.
If you could like to contact them about purchasing a flag, uses for the inner jacket, or to donate fire hoses you can reach Demlow and Carr at https://www.brotherhooddesigns.net/contact.
