Tulsa Woman falls just short of being a 'Survivor'

Survivor Two kicks off on Super Bowl Sunday on Channel 6, and Tulsa came very close to having a native fighting her way through the Australian Outback.<br><br><br>Tulsa Firefighter Debra Bailey made for

Wednesday, November 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Survivor Two kicks off on Super Bowl Sunday on Channel 6, and Tulsa came very close to having a native fighting her way through the Australian Outback.

Tulsa Firefighter Debra Bailey made for her initial try-out for Survivor Two by using the letters of her name to tell about herself.

"D stands for determined,â€ said Bailey. â€œI was determined to be a firefighter and I was Tulsa's first woman firefighter and I've been one for 9 years."

The tape could only be three minutes long, so, using a ladder, Debra painted the Survivor logo at the top of the fire department's training tower.

It was a good enough audition to get invited back for round two.

"Lo and behold, 2 days after the deadline, they called and said, congratulations,â€ said Bailey â€œI was jumping up and down, then, they said, you can't tell a soul."

She flew to Dallas at her own expense.

She expected they'd want to know things like which three luxury items she'd take with her... an air mattress to sleep on, a knife and bug spray, by the way... but, the interview questions were not that easy.

"It was bizarre, not your standard interview,â€ recalled Bailey. â€œIt was very personal. They ask you about your morals, if you've ever committed a crime, if you believe in God, how you feel about cheating and affairs and public nudity."

They told Bailey to go home and get ready because if she made the next cut, she'd only have a day's notice to head to Los Angeles.

60,000 people applied. 600 got interviews and the 50 finalists go to L.A., where they pick the final 16 survivors.

"I got with my supervisors to make sure I had the time off, I got a physical and arranged for childcare and had my ducks in a row when they called and said, thank you, but, no thank you," said Bailey.

She says she might've been too "apple pie" for the producers and even though she didn't make it, she's glad she tried and will keep trying to find some grand, new adventure.