The alarm bell sounded and they charged towards the danger (Building a Higher Level of Safe China)

"Be loyal to the party, be disciplined, go through fire and water, and serve the people wholeheartedly" is the oath of the firefighters, and it is also the footnote of every retrograde move they make. On the training ground, they repeated every action to the extreme; when the alarm bell sounded, they ran towards unknown dangers as fast as possible. They are not naturally fearless, they just put on that combat uniform and choose to shoulder the responsibility. November 9th is the 35th National Fire Protection Day. Recently, reporters visited Wang Junjie, Zhao Jianhua, and Dunzhujiang Village, who were awarded the title of "China Fire Loyal Guards", and recorded their persistence day after day, their courage despite hardships, and their charge in critical moments.

"Afraid of not being able to save the trapped people, I hold their hands and don't let go."

Thick smoke billowed in the corridor, and a heat wave hit my face. At the training base of the Wenzhou Fire Rescue Detachment in Zhejiang Province, firefighter Wang Junjie clung to the hot wall and groped forward in the darkness with visibility less than 10 centimeters.

"Only by developing muscle memory in simulated desperate situations can we become the light that breaks through the darkness on the real fire scene." For Wang Junjie, captain of the Xincheng Avenue Special Service Station of the Rail Transit Brigade of the Wenzhou Fire Rescue Detachment, leading his team members to carry out extreme breakthrough training has long been the norm.

In early 2023, in a residential building fire, the entire building was enveloped in thick smoke, and three people were trapped on the fourth floor. Wang Junjie led the attack team into the fire scene and searched for and rescued by touching the walls and knocking on doors one by one in the "return" shaped corridor. Pushing open a door, I saw three trapped people huddled in the corner. Wang Junjie held their hands tightly: "As long as I am here, I will take you out."

This obsession stems from his painful experience when he participated in firefighting work in 2014. In a house fire he participated in the rescue, some people died unfortunately. Wang Junjie's heart was pounding, "If I could be just one second faster and one point stronger, would the result be different?" Since then, Wang Junjie has trained hard and gradually polished himself into an "all-around top soldier."

In June 2020, at the Wenling West exit ramp of the Shenhai Expressway, a liquefied gas tanker overturned and leaked at high speed. It exploded twice. A nearby factory building collapsed and many people were trapped. After the explosion, the factory area was beyond recognition. Two injured people were found buried under the second floor slab. The working space was small and there was a risk of secondary collapse. Wang Junjie got into the ruins and was hit by rubble constantly. He first cleared the wood blocks and rubble, then dug with his hands, and finally successfully rescued the two trapped people.

In July of the same year, Jiangxi suffered a rare flood in history, and Wang Junjie once again took the initiative to ask for help. For 12 consecutive days and nights, the average daily working time exceeds 12 hours. During a late-night rescue, an old man was trapped in a dilapidated house and the water level continued to rise. It was already 2 a.m. when we received help. It was windy and rainy at the scene, and the assault boat moved forward in the dark. When we arrived, the water had already reached the ceiling of the first floor. Wang Junjie jumped into the rapids and carried the old man out against the whirlpool and floating objects. In 12 days, he and his teammates transferred and escorted more than 180 people.

"Afraid of not being able to save the trapped people, I hold their hands and don't let go." Wang Junjie said that it is this "fear" that makes him do his best in every training and be desperate for every rescue.

"If you treat the masses as your own relatives, there will be no reason to hesitate."

On the top of the 33rd floor, 100 meters in the air, a woman was sitting on the edge of the building, emotional. Suddenly, the woman's body slipped outwards...

Zhao Jianhua, who had no time to take full protection, jumped over several fences and rushed forward, holding the woman's wrist tightly as she was about to fall.

The huge inertia instantly pulled half of his body off the platform. The two of them were suspended high in the sky and could fall at any time. Facing the danger, Zhao Jianhua gritted his teeth, used his arms to hold on tightly, and never let go. The teammates quickly followed up and worked together to finally pull the woman back to the roof safely.

Zhao Jianhua is the squad leader of Qinghe Fire Rescue Station in Tianqiao District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. He has been on the front line for 9 years and has experienced more than 2,000 fire-fighting and rescue missions. "If you treat the masses as your own relatives, there will be no reason to hesitate," Zhao Jianhua said. "Saving people is my mission."

The decisive moment of life and death on the rooftop was earned by Zhao Jianhua gritting his teeth thousands of times on the training ground. In daily training, for physical fitness, he has to run 10 kilometers with a sandbag tied on his back; for skill training, he practices a knot movement thousands of times until he can get it right in one go with his eyes closed.

At work, Zhao Jianhua also likes to compete with himself.

The Shiqiao community within the jurisdiction is an old community, and the water pressure of the fire hydrants has always been insufficient. Once a fire breaks out, it will easily affect the rescue progress. He squatted next to the fire hydrant and pondered over and over: Can the hand-held motor pump be directly connected to it? After testing more than a dozen connection methods, several joints were screwed out, and finally a set of "hand-carrying motorized pumps to connect fire hydrants to quickly discharge water" was devised, which increased the water discharge efficiency by nearly 30%.

2 second-class merits, 3 third-class merits, 4 commendations... The heavy honors inspired Zhao Jianhua to speed up his pace. In the past few years, he has brought out batch after batch of comrades who are excellent in business. In 2024, the Jinan Fire Rescue Detachment established a physical fitness tour coaching team. Zhao Jianhua took the initiative to serve as a coach and has trained more than 1,000 commanders and fighters.

"Wearing 'Flame Blue' means you must complete your mission." Zhao Jianhua said, "I will continue to guard every alley and every building in my jurisdiction."

"Every time I charge, I give the same answer. I am always ready to sacrifice everything for the party and the people."

On August 31, 2026, a helicopter hovered over the core area affected by the debris flow in Jilong, Tibet. Dunzhujiangcun, captain of the Dingri County Fire Rescue Brigade, jumped down with 12 commanders and soldiers - the moment he landed, the mud was up to his waist. There are no roads, no signals, and the surrounding mountains may collapse again at any time. He led the team to dig deep and shallow in the mud, searching meter by meter, for three days and two nights.

"One charge is followed by countless charges." For Dunzhujiang Village, this rescue is another one after countless charges.

At 9:05 on January 7, 2025, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake occurred in Dingri County. At the moment when the ground shook violently, Dunzhujiang Village shouted an order: "Go downstairs and gather!" Within 60 seconds, the first rescue vehicle roared out of the camp gate; within 30 minutes, 19 people in three vehicles arrived at the epicenter.

Atop the ruins, a race against death begins. The Ram mother and son in Senga Village were trapped in the "Triangle of Life" with only half a meter of space left. The team members used their bodies to push against the dangerous wall. The demolition team worked at the millimeter level in the extreme space and rescued the mother and son.

"During the rescue, I saw the people transform from panic and helplessness to full of hope. I deeply felt the great responsibility." Dunzhujiangcun said. During the golden 72 hours, they used hand planers, shoulders and shovels to dig and search for the trapped people.

Charge not only occurs at the scene of disaster, but also blends into the ordinary day after day. In March this year, Dunzhujiang Village took four team members to the towns and villages under its jurisdiction to carry out inspection and publicity. On the way back, they had to climb a snow-capped mountain with an altitude of more than 5,000 meters. The snow fell heavier and heavier, the wheels skidded on the ice and snow, and the car body shook violently. Dunzhujiang Village has been following this path for more than ten years. It has visited more than 700 villages and households to check and correct hidden dangers, and taught farmers and herdsmen fire prevention. The publicity reached more than 15,000 people.

From the 140-hour fight against the Rongji mudslide in 2024, to the blizzard in Garmagou in 2025 when he climbed over a pass at an altitude of 5,400 meters to rescue tourists with pulmonary edema, to the Jilong mudslide airdrop into the disaster-stricken core area in 2026... "Every charge is the same answer, and we are always ready to sacrifice everything for the party and the people." Dunzhujiang Village said.