A high school senior's attention is drawn out a classroom window to a fire engine racing down the street. He becomes a member of a volunteer fire company and comes to respect and fight fire. Along the way he also learns to deal with disgruntled bingo patrons and drunks in a beer tent. He trains hard and comes face to face with his own mortality at the funeral of a fallen firefighter. As an EMT he helps his fellow citizens in their time of greatest need. Most of all, he learns about who he is as he confronts one of natures' oldest enemies – fire.