Heroic Fire Rescue: Difference between revisions

A common way for a work to show a character is heroic is by having them putting themselves in harm's way to rescue others, and the fire rescue is a classic example. The fire might a burning building, or car, or any other fire in general, but generally it will threaten the life of the character who enters it. Expect it to happen regularly in a work focused on firefighters.

 

 

Supertrope of [[Burning Building Rescue]] (which is about a superhero using their powers, generally for the first time, and that is where superhero examples of this trope reside). Can be used as an [[Establishing Character Moment]], [[Rescue Introduction]] or to kickstart a [[Rescue Romance]]. If the character is already shown as being heroic, it can be used to underline their [[Chronic Hero Syndrome]].

Please [[Don't Try This At Home]], as you're more likely to end up needing to be rescued yourself.

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Ask Dr. Rin]]'', when Tokiwa was still in his [[Yandere]] phase, one of his attempts to woo Meirin involved using his [[Onmyodo|shikigami]] to set her school on fire while she was trapped in one of the rooms. His plan was to invoke this trope, even though he set the building on fire in the first place. Naturally, Asuka managed to show up and rescue her first.

 

== Film ==

* Naturally, films about firefighters, such as ''[[Ladder 49]]'' and ''[[Backdraft]]''.

* In the film ''[[Film/Turk 182|Turk 182]]'' an off-duty fireman goes into a burning building and rescues a little girl; he gets injured, but since he had alcohol in his system the city refuses to pay for his medical expenses. His little brother goes on a Roaring Rampage of...uncivil disobedience.

* ''[[Backdraft]]'': As most of the man characters are firefighters by profession this happens multiple times in the film.

* In ''[[Mighty Joe Young]]'', a rescue of this nature occurs toward the end of the film.

* The title character of ''[[Bolt]]'', a dog who thought he was a superhero, shows his true heroism by running into a burning soundstage to rescue his girl Penny.

* Occurs in ''[[Crash (film)|Crash]]'' when Officer John Ryan, so far shown only as a racist, performs a rescue of a black character from a burning car and hence gets [[Character Development]] into a [[Noble Bigot with a Badge]].

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Discworld]]'':

{{quote|"A man who rushes into a burning building to rescue a stupid cat and comes out carrying that cat is seen as a hero, even if he is rather a dumb one. If he comes out ''sans'' cat he's a twit."}}

* In the first book of [[Timothy Zahn]]'s ''[[The Cobra Trilogy|Cobra]]'' Trilogy, the war has ended and a Super Soldier has come home to great distrust from his community. At one point he is almost hit by a car, and his computerized reflexes save him and then cause the car's tires to blow out, making it crash and killing the people inside despite his best efforts. Later on the mayor, who's on his side, gets him to a burning building after the firefighters have an equipment shortage, and he saves several people to mass cheers, daring then to hope that public opinion has turned around. It didn't, unfortunately; after the excitement died down he was regarded with yet more fear.

* ''The Decorator'': [[Erast Fandorin]] does it once, as recounted by Angelina.

* In the children's book ''Clarence Goes to Town'' Clarence (a non-anthropomorphic dog) is in a quiz-and-stunt show with a human, and one of the stunts is an obstacle course. Clarence goes off course because he spots a small fire backstage. After putting the fire out, they give him a special prize for doing that.

 

* In season 3 of ''[[Ashes to Ashes]]'', Ray runs into a burning building when he hears a woman in there. This trope is subverted, because a fireman ends up saving both Ray and the woman from the fire.

* ''[[Chuck]]'': Chuck and Casey in "Chuck Versus The Frosted Tips", who run into a helicopter and its surrounds on fire to rescue Morgan and Gertrude Verbinski respectively.

* Subverted in an episode of ''London's Burning''; a man had to be forcibly restrained from rushing back into a burning house to rescue his daughter, and when he finally broke loose he ended up trying to sprint up an already-unstable flight of stairs that collapsed, injuring himself quite badly and making the crew's job a lot more complicated.

* In the ''[[Charmed]]'' episode "Siren Song", Cole does this to try to prove to Phoebe that he's reformed.

 

== Music Videos ==

* The "My Hero" video by the [[Foo Fighters]].

 

 

* Butch of ''[[Chopping Block]]'' was mourned as a hero when he ran into a burning building to rescue an old lady, and didn't come back out. [[Serial Killer|They didn't see him escape out the back door, still carrying the old lady]] . . .

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* Phase pulls this in his origin novel "Ayla and the Late Trevor James Goodkind" in the [[Whateley Universe]]. He rushes to a burning building and saves his sister from a supervillainess who is throwing fireballs. It is only after getting hit with a fireball himself that he finds out he is fireproof (some of the time).

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'':

** On the way to the company softball game Jose Canseco comes upon a house on fire. "Save my baby!" He runs in and saves the baby. "Save my cat!" So he saves the cat. "Save my player piano!" He spends all day running in and out of the burning building saving things.

** "Elmer Elephant": an elephant is laughed out of a birthday party at [[Interspecies Romance|his girlfriend's (a tiger)]] house, but eventually saves her and her friends when said tiger's house catches fire with the help of an old giraffe and several pelicans.

** "Mickey's Fire Brigade": Firemen Mickey, Donald and Goofy try to rescue Clarabelle from a burning boarding house. [[Unwanted Rescue|She doesn't take too kindly to being rescued]], as she was in the bathtub at the time.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Television Is Trying to Kill Us]]

[[Category:Index to The Rescue]]