Lava Alarm (Rescue Rangers - 0x01)

## Synopsis

### Shady Oaks Apartments

There's a raging fire affecting an apartment house at 5:40am in Shady Oaks Apartments and Billy Blaze has entered the building solo in order to rescue one of the tenant's pets. Meanwhile, three other team members are outside of the building and working to quell the flames with hoses as Billy comes out of an upper floor room with the parrot wrapped in a flame-retardant cloth. The parrot squawls and attempts to flee and Billy who is flustered from the parrot's unease reminds himself that the number one rule is that "*no one gets left behind*"

Wendy is repeatedly trying to reach Billy through the radio as he has not yet been seen, and her warnings become more clear when Jack reminds her that the whole building will soon give way once the south wall collapses. When there's no answer from Billy she decides to use the ladder on the north wall and reach him as she urges he remain low from the hot smoke which she can even feel from the windows.

Suddenly, an axe breaks through the wall and Billy comes through with the parrot in his arms and as he apologizes for the wait, he jokes that he had his "hands full". The crowd below cheers from behind the safety rails set guarded by Jake, whom Billy asks to escort Mr. Elsworth to be reunited with his pet parrot who has suffered no harm apart from some ruffled feathers. The old man is relieved and comments on how he can see why people colloquially refer to the team as the "rescue heroes" and Billy replies that "anyone who gets out safe is a hero"

Jake, being a troglodyte, gives insight into his unempathetic nature when he comments that this was all to "save a parrot", but Jack reminds everyone that it's "rule number one". Wendy makes a mysterious comment to Jack saying "later, okay?" and the parrot encourages everyone by saying "presto! presto!"

### Paradise Point

At 8:15am in Paradise Point, Washington, the Lott are enjoying their small campsite in the park which they have stayed in for at least three days. The father of the group, Noah, a botanist, is looking at a coral sample from underneath a microscope at a table outside, and comments to his wife that if she can find only two more of them that it will prove his "theory". His wife is more concerned with familial matters and womanly duties, and comments that breakfast will soon be cold and that food should come first. She then gives the tray to the family at the dining table in the middle of the site, and gives some cheese sandwiches in a paper bag to Josh and Julie for their dive.

The scientific vocation of the family becomes most clear when their lion cub (named Fluffy) leaps up towards the table for a cheese sandwich. Katie, the youngest daughter, attempts to dismiss the feline but after a sudden seismic quake the cub flees from the campsite. The young girl is worried, but the mother reassures her that it will return once it's hungrier, and it's clear that the cub's antics are a common thing.

The father comments that this is now two rock slides in three days with a tint of worry, and urges the redheaded twins to stay close to camp while collecting his leaf samples whom he is paying two dollars each for their task but most of all that they watch over Katie.

### Bluewater Bay

At 8:20am in Bluewater Bay, Gil and Nemo are working together to free an orca who has a fishing net stuck around it. They successfully help the orca, who swims away, and Gil happily comments that they barely even touch the coral.

### Rescue Ground Base

At 8:30am in the Rescue Ground Base, Wendy reminds that she isn't criticizing, but makes note that Billy had everyone worried back at Shady Oaks Apartments. Before anyone can respond, Gil calls in to inform that the water rescue at Bluewater Bay was successful, and Billy thanking him asks Gip to stand by for an assignment review.

Billy doesn't dodge Wendy's question and turns back to her, who notes that being the new chief he "cut it pretty close" in the fire. Jack is working on a house of cards and reminds Billy that "no rescue technician should take any unnecessary risks" with a hint of arrogance, and calling back to his comments during the fire it may be evident that he is envious of Billy's placement as chief. He dismisses that it was all for a parrot, but Billy reminds him that the parrot was the only family Mr. Elsworth had.

A sudden seismic quake takes everyone by surprise, and Jack's house of cards falls apart as Billy walks over to the computer console. Houston calls in that they have a problem, while Wendy changes her transmission to Gil to check in on him.

Billy asks Houston if he detected the seismic activity, but Houston clarifies that it's actually geothermal and that they had detected a temperature increase at certain coordinates. Jack mockingly translates Houston's overly technical speech to the fact that there's a dormant volcano eruption at Paradise Point.

Houston barely takes Jack's rude behaviour, and continues that the nearest inhabitable site is 1.2 hours inland. Wendy notes that while the sector is technically classified as a northern rainforest, it is still bone-dry from a drought and while Billy contemplates these implications, Houston tries to calm Comet's antics. Rocky achknowledges that the "whole coast will be toast" if the fire touches the trees, and Gil trying to show maturity despite his youth mentions that he once saw a lava flow steam a lake dry in Hawaii.

Jake, being a troglodyte, asks how fast lava can flow using quite unkempt speech. Houston answers that around 130km/h depending on altitude, but ashclouds can travel 300km/h and the implications of that sends a wave of worry across the faces of the team. Comet's behaviour becomes too much and Billy cuts the transmission while he's distracted, pointing out that they'll establish a safety base on the Paradise Point land bridge at 2:00pm. He states that their first priority is civilians in trouble, while their second is forest fire prevention, and Cliff jokes that their third priority is "house pets" to which Billy agrees with a smirk.

Wendy diffuses the comedic temperament with a reminder that they should be quick and safe - showing that she's the only member still showing the same serious overtone from their last chief. Gil gives an ETA of 1:55pm, Houston stands-by at Rescue Sky Base, and Billy gives the order for everyone to go mobile. Showing that he has acknowledged Wendy's concerns, Billy reminds everyone to not take any unnecessary risks and Wendy shows her appreciation by saying "thanks for the reminder, chief"

### Paradise Point Crisis

A fissure erupts in Paradise Point causing a small lava overflow while the twins and Katie are collecting leaves and flowers. The two twins wonder if it's a campfire or perhaps even a brush-fire. While Katie their younger sister is worried, the two curious boys only call her "chicken" and ask for her to keep-up as they go to investigate the smoke. Katie stays behind despite for their pleas for her to hurry up, as the situation has reminded her that fluffy is somewhere out there all alone. She goes searching for him, leaving the flowers and her brothers behind.

The two find the fissure and realizing it's a fissure are distracted by their amazement and excitement, but as the seismic quake worsens the ground crumbles under their feet as they fall into a crater. Now trapped, they admit that they should have gone and told their father first.

Meanwhile Noah and his wife feel the tremor and it is clear to his wife that the tremor was "no rock slide." When the three youngest don't respond to Noah's cries, then it becomes clear to him that they traveled off further than they were supposed to. Noah's wife says that she'll radio Josh and Julie at the reef while he runs to the jeep, and she urges him to be careful.

#### Rescue Hero Arrival

While the team are all proceeding in their vehicles, Billy asks Cliff for an update on what he can see - and he answers that there's civilians in the area when he sees the empty anchored boat with indications that there's divers below. Wendy then confirms that the volcano has indeed gone active when she sees a column of ash from the helicopter. Rocky who is also in the helicopter has his first failure in the mission, when he fails to notice the wife in the campsite despite using binoculars. Meanwhile, the wife is trying to communicate with Josh and Julie but they can't hear her as they're busy diving.

Billy reminds everyone to wear safety gear as he reaches the land bridge, and he instructs Gil to find the divers. Gil decides to use a standard diver search pattern in grid formation and Nemo follows behind.

#### Underwater Fissures

Josh and Julie swim in a coral reef, past three light blue fish with dark blue stripes, and Julie finds and a seashell and points it out to Josh. Her brother is more concerned with more serious matters however, when he points out a lava flow behind Julie. She drops the shell and watches it disintegrate in the lava, and she muffles for them to swim back up.

When they arrive back on the surface, Julie is confused as to whether or not it was lava but Josh is convinced and they could feel that it was boiling hot. They then turn and see the pillar of smoke, and Julie laments the situation.

#### Rescue Hero Safety Base

Billy notes that once the campers are rescued out of Paradise Point that measures will have to be taken in order to ensure that the fire does not spread to the mainland. Jake is confused as to how you can stop lava considering he's a troglodyte, but Jack putting on his helmet says that "you don't, you redirect it."

And pulling out some dynamite, it seems that Jack's goal is to blow up the land bridge, effectively turning Paradise Point into Paradise Island. Billy considers this their best option and they move out immediately.

#### Fluffy

Meanwhile Katie is doing everything she can to convince Fluffy to climb down so they can return to camp. She then determines that if he's not coming down then she has no choice but to come up and she begins to ascend up the tree.

Meanwhile the mother is still unable to reach Josh and Julie, and right when Josh and Julie finally reach their radio and respond she runs out of battery. While Julie tries to figure out why her mother isn't responding, Josh does what he can do start the engine with the wire. He notes that she probably ran the battery dry trying to reach them, and Julie says that they should get out of the reef. Josh is having trouble, and Julie tries to give some advice concerning the throttle, but Josh is stressed and doesn't want to see it.

While he futilely continues, Julie looks at the steam rising above the water surrounding them.

#### Noah Crashes

Meanwhile Noah while lamenting the fact that the youngest three should have stayed closer to camp, crashes his jeep when a rockslide happens in front of him in the path, and climbing out of the vehicle with a fire extinguisher he leaps to a rock for safety as he becomes surrounded by flowing lava at all sides. Meanwhile, the twins themselves are realizing that it's indeed a volcano as lava starts to rise in their crater.

#### Noah's Rescued

Meanwhile Cliff spots lava approaching the camp and responds to Billy as to what he sees. Billy asks how much time he has to which Cliff responds five minutes at the maximum, and then he dives down to rescue the stranded jeep driver whom he sees (Noah). Diving down and grabbing Noah, Cliff makes some jokes that "now those are some aerodynamics" and that "I'll be your flight technician for the flight to the land bridge" to which Noah responds that he can't go there due to the fact that his children are still endangered.

Cliff after asking for their last name informs Wendy at the helicopter that there are children still stranded in the upper hills in the region. Noah laments that he's not back there, but Cliff informs them that the sooner he brings him to safety the sooner he can look for his kids. Jake spots them in the crater, and Cliff receiving the news while still in flight informs Noah that they're in good hands.

#### Lava Reaches Camp

It isn't long before the lava reaches the camp, and the mother gives her last instruction over the radio (if they can hear her) for Josh and Julie to go to the mainland. She then desperately attempts to sway the lava with a bucket of water, and once realizing it's of no use, Billy arrives and offers her "a lift" with a smirk.

Meanwhile Jack is drilling a hole with his jackhammer, and reminds Jake to put the red charge in the round hole while Smokey does what he can to assist by digging with his paws.

#### Reef Rescue

Meanwhile Julie fixes the engine and Josh embarrassed asks for her not to say "I told you so". Their hopes are cut short when the lava cuts a hole in their raft, but Gil arrives and commenting that he only likes lava in the movies, he asks if they're with him.

#### Alex and Jim are Rescued

Before Alex lamented that Jim was right about it being a volcano, and now when they see the rescue helicopter arrive Jim exclaims that it's the 'Rescue Heroes', just as the debris they're lying on begins to slide into the lava, and Alex says "I hope you're right again!". Wendy communicates with them through the intercom telling them not to worry, showing her maternal side.

Rocky comes down and straps them up, asking if they have rashes or other injuries to which they deny. Holding onto the rope still dangling from the helicopter, the volcano erupts behind them and they say it's "not the heat, it's the humidity".

Meanwhile, Billy informs everyone that he's driving Mrs. Lot to the land bridge. Gil confirms he has the older kids, while Wendy confirms the twins. It seems the mission is a success, but Noah asks "where's Katie?" - to which the twins suddenly remember. The team had no idea there was another family member, and Wendy is visibly worried.

Katie is singing the "name-o" song to Fluffy in order to comfort him and also herself. Billy receives the memo and the mother explains that Katie had gone looking for their 'family pet, and Billy tells her that he's going back for her and the family pet alone. He seems to be more determined when he learns there's a family pet involved. However, when they see the way blocked by lava, Billy then readjusts and admits they'll have to go together.

Noah is reunited with the twins who being emotional explain that they were double-daring and then forgot about her. Cliff calls Noah 'professor', but now that he's relieved and grateful for what they've done, he finally says that they can call him Noah.

#### Katie Rescued

The troglodyte obnoxiously freaks out when he spots Katie in the tall pine tree, and Wendy gives an update to Billy calling the pet 'an extremely large family pet' and gives him the coordinates.

Billy uses the ladder to rescue Katie, but going up is visibly annoyed by the cub and tells him to "now listen". It's unclear if Billy likes animals or not. Wendy has to leave the premises due to the smoke and commands the helicopter back to the basecamp, and Billy remembers that he can't take any unnecessary risks. He doesn't want to be reprimanded by his own team again. When he sees the lava quickly approaching Mrs. Lott and Katie, he knows that he'll have to save the cub soon or reasonably leave it behind.

Billy asks Mrs. Lott if she has any cat food. She throws him a sandwich, and this is enough to bring the cub into the vehicle. He's then driving the QRV (Quick response vehicle) back to the land bridge, and Mrs. Lott is worried they won't be able to get past the lava obstruction. Billy says "welcome to the QRV", and forces it through the lava which he dismisses as nothing more than "really hot gravel". It's an ordeal to get through, and the tires begin to catch on fire, but Wendy douses it with water from overhead. Everyone is soaked, and Billy thanks Wendy for her dynamic thinking, where she again shows her experience.

#### Final Eruption

Noah witnesses a large eruption and asks Jack how fast lava travels and Jack is hesitant to respond with the actual figure, and then Noah asks for the speed of the QRV to which he only gets the response "very fast". It's clear they're trying to keep him calm. Jake asks if he can set one last charge near the rocks just to be sure, and Jack asks how fast the bike goes, to which he says "fast enough".

Jake plants it just as Billy passes on the QRV, they drive through some bumpy patches and Billy yells for his passengers to get down as he tells Jack to detonate the charges. There's a gigantic explosion, and Wendy confirms that the land bridge has been destroyed.

#### Mission Success

The helicopter lands and everyone cheers, and shaking hands it seems Billy has finally won some respect from Jack. Fluffy has gone missing again, and everyone amusingly goes searching for him.

## Characters

### Recurring

* Billy Blazes
* Wendy Waters (serious)
* Jake Justice (motorcycle)
* Jack Hammer (smarter than he lets on)
* Gil Gripper - (youngest in team)
* Rocky Canyon
* Cliff Hangar - wisecracker
* Roger Houston (serious and apparent ultimate leader)
* Comet
* Nemo
* Smokey

### Side

* Mr. Elsworth's Parrot
* Mr. Elsworth
* Noah Lott (father) (he arrogantly asks Cliff to refer to him as 'Professor Lott')
* Mrs. Lott
* Josh Lott (easily embarrassed when he's unable to do something)
* Julie Lott (more capable than he looks)
* Katie Lott - 6 years old according to Wendy
* Fluffy
* Alex Lott (twin 1) (blue shirt) - they show they're a studied family when they say it's the humidity and not the heat
* Jim Lott (twin 2) (yellow shirt)

### Periphary

* Tall Formal Man
* Plump Formal Man
* Woman
* Troglodyte Child
* Orca

## Notes

* Jack compares the imminent falling of the house to a "house of cards" before he's seen stacking a literal one later on in the base
* Billy is often called "chief" by the team and himself seems to like to crack jokes on occassion
* The father's comments on "two rock slides in three days" gives a hint to the time they've stayed at the campsite
* The family is apparently at the site for a research project as they seem to have too many crates stacked beside their tent for an ordinary venture
* The breakfast platter has four glasses in spite of there being five children
* The redheaded twins are clearly close and a bit rascaly
* The father's lack of caution towards Josh and Julie indicate their older age.
* It is evidently Billy's first or one of his first missions as chief due to Wendy's comments. It is unclear what happened to the last chief, though her worry in a relatively tame situation may indicate a fatal end for the previous chief.
* Jack really holds Billy accountable for his role as chief
* Wendy has a more maternal care for Gil as she calls him "buddy"
* Billy is unapologetic for his concern over animals, and seems to have an affinity for Smokey, asking him to come in the vehicle during the beginning of the mission
* The mother calls the camp "botany base" indicating the family vocation. Later Noah notes that he's a professor
* The Rescue Heroes are apparently known as Jim recognizes their helicopter

## Unresolved Questions

* The last thing Wendy says to Jack at the housefire is "later, okay?", and there is no apparent explanation or context for this comment. This may suggest a possible romantic connection and considering Jack's antagonism it may signify a future conflict with Billy
* The drought Wendy mentions is unintelligible, but sounds like "the amino drought"

## Realism

There have been many instances where firefighters have rescued parrots from various emergency situations.

For example, in 2019, firefighters in London, England rescued a parrot named Jessie who had been stuck on a rooftop for three days. The parrot refused to come down and kept telling the firefighters to "f\*\*k off" when they tried to approach her. Eventually, they were able to coax her down using a recording of her owner's voice.

In another incident in 2020, firefighters in California, USA rescued a parrot named Rambo from a burning house. Rambo was found unconscious and suffering from smoke inhalation, but the firefighters were able to revive him with oxygen and he made a full recovery.