BLAZING A TRAIL

Most flee from fire, but there are those whose job is to run toward the danger. Firefighting is undoubtedly a highly demanding, widely respected, and sometimes risky profession. People are rightly unstinting in their praise of skilled, fearless firefighters with strong physiques, describing them as "knights in shining armor".

Finding out what their job entails should make fascinating viewing.

An online reality show has tackled this subject. Airing on Tencent Video, it gives six celebrities, aged from 19 to 38, the opportunity to experience every aspect of life as a firefighter.

The 10-episode show, titled First In Last Out, with actors Zhang Han, Wei Daxun and Zhang Binbin, crosstalk performer Qin Xiaoxian, singer Zhang Yanqi as well as pop idol Zhang Jiayuan, was produced with the cooperation of the Fire and Rescue Department, Ministry of Emergency Management.

It requires the celebrities to undertake intensive physical training and learn about fire prevention before they can respond to various types of emergencies. It hopes to bring viewers closer to the intense but rewarding everyday experiences of firefighters through the eyes of the six novices.

Chi Yuan, the reality show's chief director, says that our image of a firefighter is of someone courageous in times of emergency, such as fires, earthquakes and floods. They seem distant from our daily lives, Chi adds.

"Interestingly, I noticed that news about firefighters that appears among the trending topics on social media is often about them saving a cat, getting rid of a hornet's nest, catching a bat in an apartment and doing other things that are closely connected to our urban lives," says Chi.

"That inspired me to probe into what it is like to be a firefighter by producing a reality show, in which they could be portrayed in a relatable and authentic way," he says.

After following groups of firefighters for several months with his camera, Chi himself got a deeper insight into the profession.

"I was once curious about how these young firefighters, mostly around the age of 20, spend their spare time in the fire station," Chi says.

"One day, I came across a fireman who silently makes cross-stitch works as a pastime, which is really cute," he recalls.

He also found that the firefighters encounter various tricky problems on each emergency call, sometimes even being misunderstood by the citizens whom they are helping.

"Instead of always eulogizing the firefighter as a great professional in modern society, we want to present a comprehensive image of each individual firefighter in the reality show, hoping that viewers can better understand them," Chi says.

After learning the basic fire control and rescue skills, such as how to put on protective gear and how to use a flat-headed axe to break a door, at training bases in East China's Fujian province, the six celebrities are sent to a fire station in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. The fire station's jurisdiction covers not only the modern Shanghai World Expo Garden, but also blocks of old residential buildings. On average, firefighters at the station have to respond to more than 1,200 emergency calls every year. There, the six novices were offered opportunities to actually go to the site and solve various problems for the nearby communities.

"In the fire station, they also learn how to carry out a rescue in high-rise buildings and participate in fire drills jointly conducted by several fire stations," adds Chi.

With the slogan "No one is born a hero", the reality show tells stories of how ordinary individuals grow into heroes who find strength to persevere despite the obstacles they face.

"I dreamed of becoming a hero when I was a child," says Zhang Yanqi, one of the novices, adding that firefighters who put their own lives in jeopardy to keep families and properties safe are true heroes.

He recalls one memorable moment as a firefighter. One day, when responding to an emergency, a young girl who passed by said "thank you" to Zhang Yanqi and his co-workers.

"At that moment, I found the work so fulfilling," he says. "When I got to help other people as a fireman, I realized my childhood dream."

Qin, another participant, says that he has had to arrange his life according to strict rules since joining the show.

"Although it takes time for me to adjust to the new, highly self-disciplined lifestyle and intensive physical training, hopefully I can become stronger and have the ability to protect people around me," he adds.

Fires in residential buildings accounted for more than 80 percent of city fires that broke out across Shanghai last year. Electric vehicles are the leading causes of residential fires, according to Xue Bo, an official at the publicity department of Shanghai Fire and Rescue Brigade.

He says that they have been working on raising public awareness of the dangers of fires caused by electric vehicles, but found that many people still lack proper awareness and fire escape skills.

"Only when people's fire safety awareness is raised, can the fire hazards occur much less frequently," he says, adding that the reality show may help improve fire prevention.

An online user of the review site Douban comments that the reality show presents the six participants shedding their sleek celebrity images and starting from scratch to learn how to be qualified firefighters. Their changes throughout the whole process, both physical and spiritual, have been recorded.

"It's precisely because they are also ordinary individuals, just like us, who do have something to fear, that their attempts to safeguard people and property in fires are indeed heroic," the viewer posts.