Fire Breathers

The Fire Breathers was a specialized division of the Responders dedicated to fighting the Scorched before 2102. Before the Great War many members had served West Virginia as firefighters and emergency services, mostly operating in Charleston, West Virginia. Their division was led by Melody Larkin and originally assembled with the goal of exploring the toxic Ash Heap region.

Background
The Fire Breathers were initially founded by the Responders as an elite, high-risk fire fighting team to reach out to towns trapped beyond the toxic Ash Heap: Bramwell, Beckley, Welch, and others. Although Larkin wasn't thrilled by the idea, she warmed up to it quickly and helped establish a completely new division, capable of fighting through the hostile environment and surviving there for days on end. The name was her idea, meant to imbue the division with a prestige similar to other elite units: Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and especially smokejumpers. The Fire Breathers: Maria Chavez: "All right. We're recording.

Melody Larkin: "Good, 'cause now we can get on record that I think this idea's god-damned looney.

Maria Chavez: "I'm not thrilled about sending our people into a place that's actively toxic either... ... but there are whole towns down there we still haven't reached out to: Welch, Beckley, Bramwell."

Melody Larkin: "Bramwell? Come on, now! You really think the Hornwrights or the Garrahans didn't fly off to some private island the moment the air raid sirens turned on?"

Maria Chavez: "Most likely they did. But right now we don't know and don't have a safe way of finding out. And that's why I wanted your help, Melody, on how we can get there."

Melody Larkin: "... fine. We got a couple folks from the Charleston Fire Department. I can talk to them, see what they have to say about gettin' set up for those sorts of operations."

Maria Chavez: "Thank you."

Melody Larkin: "Anyone you send into all that smoke is going to need training, though. Need to be whip smart if they're gonna survive someplace that hostile. And breathing equipment's finicky as hell. Whole lot of care and maintenance if they're gonna be out there for hours, let alone days. You're talking about a whole new division here."

Maria Chavez: "I understand what I'm asking."

Melody Larkin: "Tell you what you ought to do... you ought to give 'em a name."

Maria Chavez: "A name?"

Melody Larkin: "Green Berets. Smokejumpers. Navy Seals. You want someone to sign up for dangerous duty, needs to be some prestige behind it. You give 'em a name, a new designation, extra rations, maybe, I'll guarantee you'll get the volunteers you're looking for."

Maria Chavez: "Hmm. Any suggestions?"

Melody Larkin: "Huh... well, gramps was a moonshiner. Made hooch so strong, normal folk couldn't come within a quarter-mile of it. Everyone called him and his boys the "Fire Breathers." Resilient sons-a-guns. What about that?"

Maria Chavez: "... I suppose we don't need to go with the first idea we come up with. But for now, I'd like you to reach out to those firemen. Convince them to get onboard with the... Fire Breathers. Let them know it's important. Prestigious."

Melody Larkin: "Oh lordy, I think she likes it."

Maria Chavez: "I'll work on getting them a place to train. Charleston Fire Department seems like the natural spot."

Melody Larkin: "Certainly won't have to travel far to get yourselves into trouble."

The origin was less glamorous: Fire Breathers was a term used by her grandfather's neighbors to refer to him and his sons, courtesy of the insanely strong moonshine they brewed that kept people at a quarter-mile distance. Although Maria Chavez wanted to brainstorm the name more, it stuck, and the Fire Breathers were formed. After agreeing with survivors of the Charleston flood who still lived in the city, the Breathers used the ruins as an obstacle course in preparation for the challenge of operating in the Ash Heap.

For the next several years, the Fire Breathers distinguished themselves and were supercharged with the arrival of Hank Madigan, a Marine Force Recon and Brotherhood veteran. With the scorched threat looming on the horizon, they were reformed into a fighting force capable of confronting the scorched in The Ash Heap and prevent them from taking over. The steep selection criteria focused on people who can both fight and survive in the polluted expanse of the burning Ash Heap. In return for handling the toughest missions, all members of the Fire Breathers had top priority for rations and ammunition, as well as additional ad hoc benefits for those willing to put their lives on the line.

The unit was immediately thrown into the fire, trying to contain the influx of scorched into the area after the fall of the Brotherhood of Steel and the Big Bend Tunnel. While the strategic importance of the tunnel was known, the Breathers gave it a wide berth in order to come up with a proper attack plan. Preparing for the plan involved making a run at the Atomic Mining Headquarters in Watoga, cutting over the mountains. Lieutenant Madigan believed that the headquarters could provide information on how to combat the scorched more effectively, owing to AMS' monopoly on the ore.

Madigan and his team not only succeeded in infiltrating Watoga, but also brought back plans for weapons firing depleted ultracite (potent against the scorched) and leads for the Excavator power armor developed by the Garrahan Mining Company. The power armor was considered a target of opportunity while the Fire Breathers figured out how to seal the tunnel off and stem the influx of scorched into the Heap. Eventually, they settled on blowing the tunnel up using mining explosives recovered from the Heap.

After the fall of the Brotherhood in 2095, Madigan ventured beyond the mountains into The Mire and made contact with the Free States, after deliberately disturbing their scorchbeast lure. Impressed by the fact the Staters were luring the monsters down to kill them, he decided to aid them in setting up the Scorched Detection System, so that once the Big Bend Tunnel was locked down, they could focus on eliminating the scorched in the Divide and the Mire together. He left Charleston to set up the crucial uplink at the Top of the World, to finalize the SDS. He was, unfortunately, captured by the raiders under David Thorpe and tortured to death. His loss forced the Breathers to move out from The Rusty Pick on their own.

To make matters worse, the Breathers did not have the protection of a Scorched vaccine worked on at the AVR Medical Center, due to shortages of necessary materials and data.

Unsurprisingly, the Big Bend became the Fire Breathers' grave, with the unit wiped out by the scorched, despite desperate efforts to fulfill the mission in spite of standing orders to retreat.

Organization
The Fire Breathers were comprised of pre-War firefighters and post-War volunteers. They refined tactics and developed equipment specifically for fighting the Scorched, notably using pre-War fire protection gear as armor as well as Fire Breather uniforms. Firefighter protectrons at the Charleston Fire Department were reprogrammed to assist the Fire Breathers in their new role.

To join the Fire Breathers, potential recruits were required to complete an exam comprised of three tests; a written exam, a fitness exam and a final exam testing the practical application of the recruit's abilities in a hostile environment.

Interactions with the player character
While the Fire Breathers have been wiped out, their protectrons and equipment can be utilized by the player character. One of these protectrons, Bernie, appears during the quest Into the Fire, in which the player character participates in the Fire Breathers' recruitment exam. Bernie presents the player character with equipment necessary for the final test and instructs on how to formally become a Fire Breather upon its completion.

The player character can find the bodies of Sergeants Allemane, Cominsky, and Holstein at Big Bend Tunnel. Collecting the three codes found on their corpses will unlock plans for anti-Scorched weapon mods at the Fire Breathers' master terminal in the Charleston Fire Department.

Locations

 * Charleston Fire Department - Their main, and so far only, base of operations.
 * Belching Betty - A Scorched-infested mine, the player character is sent during Into the Fire to clear it and activate the emergency beacon of a team of Fire Breathers previously sent there.
 * Brim Quarry - A Scorched-infested quarry, it was successfully cleared by a Fire Breathers team led by Lieutenant Thomas on March 10, 2095. It has been reoccupied in subsequent years.
 * Big Bend Tunnel - The location of the Fire Breathers' last mission. The corpses of Sergeants Allemane, Cominsky, and Holstein can be found here.

Known members

 * Melody Larkin - Leader. Last reported leading a mission to seal Big Bend Tunnel.
 * Hank Madigan - Killed by raiders while attempting to fix a relay for the Free States' Scorched Detection system. Corpse can be found in a cage on the Top of the World's observation level.
 * Sgt. Allemane - Died during the Fire Breathers' final mission. Corpse can be found at Big Bend Tunnel West, near the tunnel entrance.
 * Sgt. Cominsky - Died during the Fire Breathers' final mission. Corpse can be found in the Big Bend Tunnel, near the end of a side tunnel with railroad tracks running south.
 * Sgt. Holstein - Died during the Fire Breathers' final mission. Corpse can be found at Big Bend Tunnel East, near the tunnel entrance.
 * Lieutenant Thomas - A lieutenant in both the pre-War Charleston F.D. and later the Fire Breathers. At one point was charged with clearing Brim Quarry.
 * Dustin - A member of Lieutenant Thomas' squad at Brim Quarry. After Garrett's death, he attempted to console the squad by reasoning his death was relatively painless.
 * Garrett - A member of Lieutenant Thomas' squad at Brim Quarry. Died whilst clearing the quarry summit and was buried in its shipping yard.
 * Omar - A member of Lieutenant Thomas' squad at Brim Quarry.
 * Yas - A member of Lieutenant Thomas' squad at Brim Quarry.
 * Initiates
 * Andrew Rhodes - Died while attempting to clear Belching Betty as part of the final Fire Breathers' exam.
 * Maxine Ballard - Died while attempting to clear Belching Betty as part of the final Fire Breathers' exam.
 * Rita Wilcox - Died while attempting to clear Belching Betty as part of the final Fire Breathers' exam.
 * Sylvester Tate - Died while attempting to clear Belching Betty as part of the final Fire Breathers' exam.
 * Timothy Wolfe - Died while attempting to clear Belching Betty as part of the final Fire Breathers' exam.

Appearances
The Fire Breathers only appear in Fallout 76.