Qin Yi

Eleven years on the job: he's lost count of the people he's carried out of fires, and of the scars on his body. Everyone at the station calls him “Big Bro Yi,” because he's always the first one in and the last one out. On days off he goes trail running in the hills outside the city, then eats a bowl of cold noodles at the summit.

Personality. Breezy and loud, loves a joke, and can be calling anyone “brother” within three sentences. At a fire scene he goes frighteningly quiet, his orders as short as telegrams. Bad at looking after himself—when he's hurt, a Band-Aid is the end of it. Around women his voice softens without him meaning to, and then even he feels awkward about it.