Firefighter

The **Firefighter** is an NPC and playable character. As a character, the Firefighter is fully equipped to fight fires and create their own if needed.

The Firefighter is unlocked by extinguishing 5 fires in a single run.

## NPC

Firefighters appear in Industrial, Downtown and Uptown, spawning inside a Fire Station or outside wandering the streets. When a fire breaks out, all Firefighters rush towards it to put it out with their Water Cannons, going back to their old positions when the Fire is out.

All Firefighters are Aligned with each other. They sometimes spawn holding an Axe, or possibly a Wrench in Industrial. Firefighters become Hostile towards characters that start a fire if they spot them near the fire if they are not already Aligned towards that character.

## Drops

* Money (common)
* Fire Extinguisher (rare)
* Fireproof Suit (rare)

## Quotes

### General chat:

* *"Know what I hate more than fire? The monstrous caveman who invented it."*
* *"This water cannon on my arm means I can shower literally anytime!"*
* *"Fire safety is my number two concern, ironically behind water safety."*
* *"If you can't put out a fire, just build a fireplace around it -- lemons into lemonade!"*
* *"Do not set your house on fire when it's cold, you have no idea how many people do this."*

### At the Homebase:

* *"I'd say something about this barrel being a fire hazard, but I don't want to be 'that guy'."*

## Tips and Strategies

### Playable

* **How to fight:** The Firefighter has respectable stats and does pretty well in combat. Their Axe does a lot of damage and the Flamethrower is an effective weapon, especially against groups of melee enemies.
	+ Firefighters can use their Water Cannon to push NPCs into traps and hazards, such as Land Mines and Holes.
* With Team Building Expert and above average stats, the firefighter is a great choice for self-cloning at a Clone-O-Matic, or using/cloning Friend Phones. Aligned Firefighters can also help in the player’s Big Quest by putting out fires. **How to finish missions:** Take advantage of Scorching Savior, allowing Firefighters to put a building's fire out and then explore the building for a small amount of time before annoying the owner. Firefighters are also Aligned with other Firefighters, meaning causing a fire can be a good way to "call for backup" before getting into fights; remember, Firefighters won't turn on you for starting fires if they are already Aligned with you, so this is safe to do.
* **How to unlock:** While not initially unlocked, the Fire Extinguisher can be purchased as a possible mission reward for only 2 Nuggets. Once you receive it as a reward, you should be able to find plenty of fires to extinguish - flaming barrels, industrial fires, etc.
	+ Players may not want to unlock the Fire Extinguisher however, as it is of minimal use to non-firefighter characters and cannot be "relocked" afterwards. This can be circumvented by playing a character that starts off with valuable items and/or cash, such as the Investment Banker, and repeatedly purchasing items from Goodie Dispensers until a Fire Extinguisher is obtained.
* NPCs avoid walking into fire if they can. Players can use this to their advantage by creating a wall of fire using the Oil Container and Cigarette Lighter to prevent NPCs from following them.
* Fire will usually not spread to buildings made of stone, metal or glass.
* Inferno Assailant does NOT give XP for putting out fires you created.
* There are no fire hydrants on Park floors, so Firefighters have to rely on pure water lakes - poisoned ones won't do - to refill their cannons. This also means that there is no way to refill your cannon on floor 3-2, as the lakes are frozen. Fill the cannon before moving on to 3-2.
* Keep your Fire Extinguisher handy in case the cannon runs out of water. Reserve it for situations where water can't be reached in time.
* For the Big Quest, there is a maximum of two arsonists per level. NPCs only become arsonists when the player is outside, spawning near the player when it is convenient for them, with a limited amount of Molotovs.
	+ Teleportation is useful for limiting the amount of time spent outside for arsonists to spawn, but as there are only two per level, there isn't really a reason to go out of your way to avoid them.

### NPC

* While their weapons stats are average, Firefighters are surprisingly decent melee fighters, especially in groups. They can hit hard with their Axes, run fast to catch up to the player, and are quite durable with 3 Endurance. Take caution when engaging in fights with Firefighters, or simply avoid angering them at all; there is rarely any reason to do so intentionally.
* Using the Flamethrower on them can drain lots of ammo, and is less effective as they're resistant to flames with Fireproof Skin. It can still be useful against them in large groups, though.
* Be mindful of where NPC Firefighters are when creating fires. They appear quickly and put out fires quickly. If you desperately need a fire to burn for a long time, try to start it far away from Fire Stations or in hard to reach places.
	+ Firefighters will attempt to put out any uncontrolled fire, regardless of location. This can be exploited to lure Firefighters out of Fire Stations by starting a fire far away, then raiding the Station.

## Trivia

* When first introduced in Alpha 46 firefighters did not have Water Cannons and instead used Fire Extinguishers, until becoming playable in Alpha 63.

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