Michael Strahan takes on firefighter challenge

— -- "Good Morning America" anchors Michael Strahan and Jesse Palmer marked International Firefighters' Day today by shadowing Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) firefighters as they fought a simulated fire at the FDNY training facility on Randall's Island in New York.

The facility, nicknamed "The Rock," features a mock restaurant that can be lit on fire.

FDNY firefighters cycle through the training facility about eight times per year, according to FDNY Chief Frank Rosciano and Captain Brian Voos. The two FDNY veterans guided Strahan and Palmer through the mock fire.

"We try not to think about what bad is going on there," Voos said of entering burning buildings. "We have jobs. We work as a team. We come together."

He continued, "We know everyone inside is panicking. We’re trying to get them out. We’re trying to fight the fire and go do our jobs. That’s why we train."

Strahan and Palmer and the FDNY firefighters were joined by actor Denis Leary, who played a firefighter on the FX show, "Rescue Me."

Leary, who created a foundation to support firefighters, also trained as a firefighter during his time on the show. He gave Strahan and Palmer an idea of what to expect, and narrated as the two entered the burning restaurant during the drill.

"You know what’s generally supposed to happen, but you don’t know what’s really going to happen," Leary told Palmer and Strahan before they entered. "So, again, the big thing is don’t panic and trust your teammates."

The anchors strapped on official FDNY gear, including face masks. Strahan joined the "ladder company," the group that goes into the burning building first in order to locate the origin of a fire.

Palmer was a part of the "engine company" that pulled in the massive fire hose and helped to extinguish the fire. The two followed the FDNY firefighters' lead in checking that the entire building was all clear before emerging safely.

Later today, Leary will lead a charity event for his foundation, The Leary Firefighters Foundation (LFF), at the FDNY training facility. The "First Annual Denis Leary FDNY Firefighter Challenge" will challenge teams to a competition where they experience firsthand the work that firefighters do.

"For the Leary Firefighters' Foundation, to be invited to the greatest training academy in the fire service on the planet, here in New York, is just a real honor and a privilege," Leary said.

The actor launched his foundation after his cousin and a childhood friend were among six firefighters who died while trying to fight a fire that broke out in an abandoned warehouse in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, in December 1999.

Leary's foundation provides funding and resources to fire departments across the country. The LFF has raised more than $10 million for first responders nationwide since 2000.