First responders are born twice.
The first time is when
they come into the world.
The second is the day
when they make the choice
to spend their lives
running towards the danger.
To risk everything to make
sure that you get home safe
to the people you love.
My name is Henrietta Wilson.
And this is my story.
Don't worry.
- She'll be here.
- What can I say?
- I have a type.
- Okay, fine.
Some doctors like golf,
some like gentlemen's clubs,
some like, uh, Lakers tickets.
It's my job to know
what makes you happy.
Spoken like a true pusher.
So, is she into guys?
I mean, what's her story?
What's whose story?
We should order that nice wine,
unless they're pulling in the
reins on your expense account.
Ah, since the meltdown in '08,
everybody's been cutting back.
I talk to my buddies in
finance and real estate.
They are all flying coach
and having client
meetings at Applebee's.
But not us. Pharma is soaring.
Well, nothing helps the
bottom line like a bunch
of depressed folks, right?
Well, Hen, you know the,
uh, specs on this drug.
Why don't you tell them
why it's worth the cost?
Well, gentlemen, we are
seeing a 14% decrease
in typical side effects
from all the other
antidepressants on the market.
Weight gain or loss, sleep
dysfunction, loss of sex drive.
You know, my patients always ask
for the generic. It's cheaper.
If it's between being
able to afford the pill
or no pill at all?
Yeah, I think you should
probably prescribe generic.
Or maybe get your
patients to go for a walk,
or maybe stop the processed
food before popping a pill.
Well..
You have such a warm and generous heart.
I mean, that's very
unusual for a pharma rep.
Tell me more about you.
I can tell you that I
don't like to be touched
without an invitation, and
when people inv*de my space,
sometimes I pin their hand to the table
with their own steak Kn*fe.
Hey, my office will
send over the samples
first thing, okay?
Hey, we'll talk soon.
- What the hell was that?
- They're gonna buy.
We were building and cultivating
our relationship, right?
I mean, that's our job.
We're selling antidepressants,
Steven, not me.
Do you even like this job?
Because I got to tell
you, you don't act like it.
You know, I took this job
because I convinced myself
that I'll be helping people
if I could get them the
medicine that they needed.
But that was, that was just
a story I was telling myself.
Do I like this job?
Hell no.
I hate it.
This is not me. None of this is me.
So, what are you trying to say?
I quit.
What?
I have just never seen someone
set their entire life on fire before.
So, what's it say?
What kind of job should I be doing?
Is it that bad?
The test only works if
you give honest answers.
- I was.
- I feel like
all your answers were for me.
That you wrote down things
that you thought you
were supposed to say.
I feel like that's been
my problem my whole life.
Not that I don't speak my mind.
You can ask my mom, my girlfriend,
or any boss that I've
ever had about that,
but in terms of the
jobs that I've taken,
they weren't what I wanted.
They were just what I felt like
I was supposed to be doing at the time.
So let me ask you a question.
What is it that you hate,
more than anything else?
What is it that drives
you absolutely bananas?
Bullies.
- Bullies?
- Yeah.
They find people at their weakest,
their most vulnerable, and att*ck.
Like, how, how do you offer someone,
who's already down
on their knees, a fist
when what they need is a hand?
So you feel a desire to
protect the vulnerable.
Like a vigilante or something?
Might be fun. I mean, the hours suck
and the benefits are terrible.
You know, you don't need a test
to find out what you're meant to do.
You have a fire within.
Are you okay?
I slept wrong last night.
And I've had this pain all day.
Where were we?
You have a fire, a passion, a purpose.
And I know this is gonna sound clich?,
but there's a voice inside of
us that, when we listen to it,
when we quiet ourselves and
just listen, all will be well.
All will be revealed...
Oh, Stacey!
Oh, hell no.
Hi, um...
We'll get it from here.
Let Dispatch know we're en route.
She's gonna be okay, right?
- Just fine, thanks to you.
- Me?
Starting CPR that quick
makes all the difference.
- Probably saved her life.
- I was a lifeguard
one summer as a kid.
Must have been a good one.
Even people with training tend to panic
when they're confronted
by the real thing.
Nice job.
It was like this total
rush came over me.
I just knew exactly what to do,
and I did it, I saved her.
I'm so proud of you, baby.
You never cease to amaze me.
Man, I walked into her office
this morning completely unsure
of what I wanted to do with my life.
And now, I mean, what if I found it?
What if you found what?
That thing. My purpose.
It was all the stuff
Stacey was talking about.
I'm meant to save people's lives.
Okay, I get that you're happy,
you know, and-and you should be,
but this was a, a fluke, right?
I mean, you can't believe
it's some sign from God.
No, I think the sign came
from God when I was 16
and I got sh*t and lived.
This is Him sending me a reminder.
You know what? Forget it.
Hey, no, I'm not being dismissive.
Today, my life finally came into focus.
It's that passion
Stacey was talking about.
Yeah, well, passion is for rich people.
And the rest of us, we work.
Well, I'm tired of just working.
Well, paramedics, they go through tons
of physical training.
I mean, it's like being a firefighter.
So I'll just... I'll get in shape.
They're trying to recruit
women now, you know?
Well, is that what you really want?
Want to be the black
lesbian in the firehouse?
You know, you act like
I'm-a march in there
with a rainbow flag.
No one knows I'm a lesbian.
It's just firehouses
are boys clubs, Hen.
And white boys clubs.
Well, then I'll just have to Rosa Parks
the hell out of it, now, won't I?
You're really serious about this?
Yes.
I know it won't be easy.
But I at least got to try.
I need you to want this for me, too.
Hey, if you want it, I want it.
You know I will always support you.
Always.
You're like a hero.
Please find a seat.
You see this?
This is a Los Angeles
Firefighter Paramedic patch.
You're all here because
you want to wear one.
Most of you never will.
Okay, Wilson, show me what you got.
Watch your technique. Faster!
Here we go, Wilson, come on.
Keep the pace, keep the pace.
Membership into the world's elite
lifesaving service must be earned.
Physically and mentally,
you'll be tested as though
your life depended on it,
because that's the business we are in:
life and death.
Push.
Let's go, let's go, move.
Let's go, let's move!
That's it, that's it.
Don't let him die. Do not let him die!
Pull, pull, pull!
Let's go.
Damn, Wilson, we're supposed
to save cats, not wear them.
I don't think you got it, Wilson.
Come on, Wilson, I don't
know if you can do this.
How bad you want to
wear that patch, Wilson?
You're not gonna make it, are you?
Show me!
Let's go, let's go.
You're losing your pace, come on.
Keep the pace.
Get up or give up, Wilson.
They're laughing at you.
You gonna let these guys laugh at you?
If you feel even the
slightest glimmer of doubt
about your ability to make
that kind of commitment,
then I suggest you back out that door.
Henrietta Wilson.
Congratulations.
You are now a Los Angeles
Firefighter Paramedic.
Wilson.
Captain Gerrard?
Is that your real name, "Henrietta"?
Yes, sir.
What'd you do to your parents
to deserve a name like that?
You're prettier than
most, I'll give you that.
That's the women's locker room.
Don't mind the Ping-Pong table.
We'll move it out in a
week if you're still here.
- Yes, sir.
- Guys.
There's somebody I want you to meet.
- Who's this?
- This is our new
diversity hire.
- For real?
- You know, Cap,
- there's another way to say that.
- Yeah.
We're screwed.
I'm Howie.
Hen.
Welcome to the 118.
What'd you end up doing last night, Sal?
Gina dragged me to that vampire movie.
Twilight.
Seriously, that's what
you did with your day off?
Wasn't half bad.
Honestly, I couldn't really
tell you what happened in it,
but that Kristen
Stewart, oh, sweet mama.
I really like Kristen Stewart, too.
That's something I can get
behind, know what I mean?
See, I don't get that.
She's too... brooding for me.
- Too...
- What, hot?
Maybe you're more of a
Team Jacob kind of guy.
I don't even know what that means.
He's insinuating that you're gay.
Easy, boys.
So, Hen, where you from?
- Right here. L.A.
- Seriously?
I would have bet money that
you were from the East Coast.
You just kind of have that vibe.
Thank you for the compliment?
New York bitchiness is a compliment?
Whoa, nobody said anything
like that, come on.
Where, exactly, in L.A., Henrietta?
- Inglewood.
- Inglewood.
You know what, Cap?
Uh, I've been meaning
to ask you for next...
Eight women were recruited,
and three of them make
it through the academy.
106 stations in L.A.,
and we end up with one of the three.
What did I do to deserve this?
I can make an educated guess.
Watch yourself.
You know how much it
costs to send a woman
through the academy?
Same amount as it costs to
put a man through, I imagine.
$82,000.
That's how much money
taxpayers flush down the toilet
with every failed female recruit.
I don't know. I say if you can make it
through the training,
you've earned your place.
Is that what you're worried about?
The taxpayers?
I'm worried about my life and
putting the lives of my men
in the hands of somebody
who isn't up to the job.
And I'm worried about
that poor son of a bitch
who dies in a fire because
you can't drag his ass out.
And this is all because
the mayor wants to say
that female recruitment is up.
That is what I'm worried about.
Okay, so that was kind of ugly.
Listen, the captain's
just old-school. It's...
"Old" isn't the only
word that comes to mind.
Look, I get what you're trying to do,
but I don't need
anybody carrying my load.
Hell, I'm smart enough to know
that just by looking at you.
I just wanted to make sure you
knew you weren't alone here.
Thank you.
Yeah, just, um... call me back.
Thanks.
Katy.
From work.
She, uh, says she knows someone
who might be in the
market for a roommate.
- It's Arcadia, though.
- Ugh.
Long as you don't move
back in with the jerk.
Right. I never should've married him.
- I should've listened to you.
- Hey, not true.
I liked him for 48 hours:
between the time you told
me you were seeing someone
and when I met him.
Anyway...
you don't have to be in any hurry.
I kicked you out of your bedroom.
You leave for work an hour before me,
and I don't want you waking my ass up
when you use the bathroom.
Besides, it's nice
in the sunroom when it's raining.
Which is, like, once a decade now.
Get some sleep.
You look like hell.
_
_
_
Help!
My mom is buried, and
I can't get her out.
She's trapped!
Come here, show me where your mom is.
Guys, this structure's unstable.
Watch yourself.
She was buried,
and I found her, but
I-I couldn't get her out.
Okay, we're gonna help your mom.
No, I want to be with her.
We just need you to stand back.
It's not safe in there, okay?
We need room to do our work. Please.
Ma'am, is there anybody
else in the building?
No.
Shovels, gentlemen. Go, now!
Can't breathe.
I'm gonna give you some oxygen.
I'm gonna help you breathe.
- Okay?
- It me, or this stuff
got a mind of its own?
It's like that Steve McQueen movie.
Move it! Faster!
Where's Kiley?
Mom, I'm here.
The weight is constricting
her chest, Captain.
We got to relieve the
pressure on her lungs.
She's unconscious. Shallowing!
What's your mother's name?
- Dianne.
- Dianne, can you hear me?
Grab her hand. Pull!
It's not the mud.
Something's pinning her down.
Might be a piece of furniture.
This is like quicksand.
There's too much water.
- Or not enough.
- Not enough?
You guys, do you ever build sandcastles?
What happens when the tide comes in?
Where are you going?
To fetch a tide.
Wilson.
I love you, Mom.
This block is red-tagged, people!
Do not grab belongings,
just keep moving.
Just keep moving.
Officer!
Can you feed me this line?
Where's the fire?
If this doesn't work,
they're gonna burn me alive.
See, the water is loosening up the mud.
Hot damn, Wilson.
There's a log pinning her down.
I've got it. It's coming loose.
Ready?
- Give me a hand.
- Okay.
Mom?
Up.
She wasn't supposed to
be there in that room.
- It's my fault.
- Shh. It's not your fault.
It's not your fault,
okay? It's nobody's fault.
Wilson.
She's gonna be DOA.
I know, sir.
And you're telling yourself what?
That you showed us up?
Well, congratulations.
You got her out with enough time
for her daughter to watch her die.
Hey! My number.
I know a great bar on the Westside.
I'll settle for a good damn
bridge to jump off right now.
I'd tell you it gets better, but
you'd know I was lying. Call me.
I probably don't have to tell you
to never let them see you cry.
No.
This ain't my first
rodeo with men like him.
It's just the first
time it happened in a job
that I actually care about.
Yeah, I understand.
No, you don't.
Oh, you think they're
inviting the Asian guy
to their houses for
barbecues and out for beers?
It's a big difference
between being invisible
and being a thr*at to their way of life.
And, yes, you're a minority,
too, but you're still a man.
You benefit from a system
that keeps women that look like me down.
You always make friends this easily?
Howie, quit screwing around
in home ec class and get down here.
Some unsolicited advice:
doesn't have to be me,
but you should talk
to someone about this.
You're not gonna survive
if you take this on
all by yourself, Hen.
That fender's a thing of beauty, Wilson.
Like a damn mirror.
It is almost as clean as the heads.
I'd let my granddaughters play
with their Barbies in there.
I got a jump on it
this morning, Captain.
Also cleaned the grease
traps in the kitchen,
inventoried the trucks,
even got the cobwebs
- in the rafters.
- Well, color me impressed.
What?
You remind me of myself
when I was a rookie,
stuck with all the chores.
No way I was gonna let
down my captain. No way.
Other thing I did when I was a rookie
was check up on my calls.
Wanted to find out how the
people I treated turned out.
Stopped after a month or two.
There's no point.
But at first I had to know.
Bet you checked up on
our mud lady, didn't you?
Yes.
And?
You were right, Captain.
She didn't make it.
Can't help but wonder
if there's something we
could have done differently.
It's hard to know.
But know this.
You ever go against my command again
and you won't be
cleaning out grease traps.
You'll be cleaning out your locker.
You missed a spot.
Attention, Station 118...
No. You're sitting this one
out. I'm not ready to have you
back in the field.
I want you to think about what I said
while you're prepping dinner.
Here she is.
Hey, hey, hey.
Oh, so glad you called.
Oh.
- Oh!
- Thanks for taking the time.
Oh, you don't have to thank me.
I remember what it
was like starting out.
I invited a couple of folks to
join us. Hope you don't mind.
Usually no, but I'm not
really up for socializing.
This is Henrietta Wilson, the
medic I was telling you about.
Oh, I know that look.
Casey, the gay firefighter from the 115.
- Mm-hmm.
- This is Bethanne.
She works out of Rampart.
Three of us... we get together
once a month, swap w*r stories.
Oh, so this is like a support group?
Oh, relax. It is not like AA.
In fact, can we get another
round over here, please?
I would be expelled.
Oh, they knew I was gay from
the moment I walked in the door.
Now, never mind that I was the
strongest guy in the firehouse.
All I ever wanted to be was a fireman.
You know, be a hero.
But it got so hard that my
boyfriend told me to quit.
He told me to find a new dream.
Mm.
So I found a new boyfriend.
When I first started on patrol,
there was this one officer.
He asked me if I knew
how to fire my p*stol.
I finished first in my
class in the academy,
and he asked me if I knew
how to discharge my w*apon.
Sometimes all it takes is one
captain that should have retired
ten years ago, who hasn't kept up
with the times, to
make life at work hell.
What about you, Athena?
Oh. You know, I had this partner
when I worked in South L.A....
White, part of the old guard.
You know. He told me he always
wanted to taste some chocolate,
put his hand on my thigh.
I told him if he wanted chocolate,
he should go to Carvel,
and that if he ever touched
me again, he'd taste it...
through a wired jaw.
Imagine how much harder
it must have been for the
people who came before us.
Mm. They were and we are
the first responders of change,
and change doesn't happen overnight,
but it does happen.
So you know what you do.
You go in there tomorrow,
you do your work.
Outshine them.
Hmm? Be you.
Go in there with your head
up, because they don't get
to determine who you are.
You decide that.
- Drink to that.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- Hey.
What the hell is this?
I have something to say to all of you.
I see you.
I saw you all the second
I walked in that door.
All of you staring down at me.
I see you when you're hazing me,
not like all the other rookies.
Whether we're here in the house
or-or-or we're out on a call,
I'm watching you, I'm
looking, I see you.
When you look at me, what do you see?
A woman?
A black woman?
A lesbian?
Good.
'Cause I'm all of those things.
And I don't expect you to love me.
I don't even ask you to like me.
All I ask is that when you look at me,
see me.
See me the way I see you...
As a proud member of this department.
One of the rare few that chooses
to spend their lives in service
of those who are hurt and
those who need to be saved.
Yes.
And one other thing.
If any of you have a
problem with me being here,
I suggest you ask for a transfer.
'Cause I'm not going anywhere.
Attention, Station 118.
Respond to a motor vehicle accident.
Unknown injuries.
Saved by the bell.
Let's go to work.
_
_
- Did you see it happen?
- Came up on it.
- Just called it in.
- Party limo, Captain.
- Tommy, get the Jaws.
- Roger that.
Fire department. We're
gonna get you out.
- How many you got in here?
- There's five of us. Please hurry.
Tommy, let's go!
It hurts.
- Oh, God.
- It's okay, buddy. We got you.
Five people, plus the
driver. Two conscious.
- Driver's deceased!
- Got it.
Hey.
What is that?
Yellow paint.
We got one!
All right, easy.
What do you remember?
One second, Mark was lighting the bong.
The next, we were upside down.
We were just having a party.
It was just a party.
Apply pressure.
- Try to breathe easy. Breathe easy.
- Captain!
Captain, I think there
was another vehicle
- involved in the crash.
- What are you talking about?
The bumper on the party
limo has yellow paint on it.
- Yellow paint...
- She's right, Cap. I saw it, too.
It's all over the bumper.
What if there was another car here?
It would explain why the
limo is so close to the road.
Maybe it hit something
before it flipped over.
What does he say?
He doesn't remember anything.
The only way to know for sure
is if we go down there and check.
I'm not diverting resources
from a critical accident scene
because you saw yellow paint.
Your observation is duly noted.
Now tend to your
wounded. That's an order!
Hen! He'll have your job.
If I don't do this, I
don't belong in this job.
He's stable and ready to move.
For the record, I thought
that was a pretty good speech.
You know what pisses
me off about all this?
- What?
- The rain.
I had it ordered
stopped a half hour ago.
I guess you got as much
pull around here as I do.
More flowers.
Great. We can use them at our funeral.
Flower vendor. He probably
finished up his day,
was heading home, and got hit.
Look, Howie, it's a shoe.
Wilson!
Here!
I got him. I got him.
I got him.
- No pulse.
- He's hypothermic.
He's not breathing.
Starting compressions.
This is EM-2 to unit 104.
We have a male drowning victim,
approximately eight to ten years old.
Location is approximately
80 to 100 yards southeast
of primary accident site.
Require immediate assistance for evac.
- Over.
- Copy. Assistance on the way.
Come on. Come on, baby, breathe.
- Please breathe.
- Hold.
No pulse.
- Please, baby. Please, baby.
- Come on.
Come on, sweetheart.
Sweetheart, breathe.
Breathe, sweetheart.
Hold!
No pulse.
- Come on. Baby, please.
- Come on. Come on.
Come on, sweetheart.
Sweetheart, breathe.
Breathe, sweetheart.
- Hold.
- Come on.
I got a pulse.
Good. Good. Keep breathing.
Keep breathing. Keep breathing.
You did it.
Is this gonna be a regular thing?
The crying?
It damn well could.
'Cause now you got me going and
I don't know how to handle it.
Please don't tell the other guys, okay?
Good job, Wilson.
Okay.
Yo, Wilson.
- Nice work yesterday.
- Yeah.
We would have done a sweep and found
that second car eventually.
But eventually would have been too late.
I just got lucky.
Screw that.
You're good.
Hen, Captain wants to
see you in his office.
Well, it's been nice working with you.
Hey, you don't know what's
gonna happen in there.
He hates me.
Not because of how good I do this job,
just because of who I am.
Firefighter Wilson.
I'm Commander Roose.
I know who you are, sir.
I remember you from the
brochures about recruitment.
This is Captain Cooks.
Since you've started working here,
we've received numerous complaints.
If I could just have a chance
- to just... to defend myself.
- Not about you.
It's about Captain Gerrard.
Wh-What?
I... no, I, I never
filed any complaints.
Not from you, Firefighter Wilson,
from your coworkers.
What? Who?
That information is privileged.
But let's just say,
more than a few of your
firefighters have your back.
Some of the complaints
got pretty colorful.
One of your coworkers
compared Captain Gerrard
and his behavior to
a particular condition
best cured by Preparation H.
It's not just complaints
we're receiving.
Your colleagues all have
some pretty complimentary
things to say about you.
You've made quite an impression.
I-I had no idea.
I-I seriously thought that you guys
were bringing me in here to...
to fire me.
Why would we do that?
You're the future of the LAFD.
Until we find Captain
Gerrard's permanent replacement,
Captain Cooks here is going to
assume leadership of the 118.
Welcome aboard, sir.
You, too, Firefighter Wilson.
- Hen.
- Hen.
Did you know what was going on
in there before you sent me in?
You set me up.
That's revenge for you making it
so hard to be friends with you.
Thanks for sticking it out with me.
And thanks for following
me down that hillside.
The first of many, I'm sure.
Attention, Station 118.
Traffic accident with injuries.
We are born with innocence.
Then, as we grow, we are
cursed with a question: "Why?"
Why are we here?
Is it all just chaos,
or do we have a purpose?
I was one of the lucky ones
who found an answer to that question.
The curse was lifted and replaced
with the gift of certainty.
Why am I here?
Because when you are
scared, when you are hurt,
and when you're in the
wrong place at the wrong time
and the smoke is too thick to breathe
or it hurts too much to move
or it looks like you might
lose someone you love,
when it's your turn to have
the worst day of your life...
...I am here to be the
first one there to help.
I am here to stand
between you and the chaos.
I am a first responder.
That is my purpose.
And I'm always just a phone call away.