A shift of station 18 consists of:

Captain  Margaret Tacy * aka the Iron Maiden (behind her back). She is a veteran of the Navy and very military in her approach to things. She is one of the few women in the pilot program with any actual experience in Fire Service prior to the training given by the County when setting up the station. Since nearly everyone is really a rookie, this team is logically at something of a disadvantage or they would be if they weren't all so determined to beat the boys at their own game.

Firefighter/Paramedic Elizabeth Pigeon* aka Pidge. She is also a registered nurse and is the Senior paramedic. She is black and slightly older than most of the others (except the Captain.) She is eminently more practical than her partner and the Captain almost looks on her as a second in command. She is also a former Olympian in track and field. She has also served in the military as a nurse.

Firefighter/Paramedic Cathleen Kelly* aka Cassie. She is the youngest and most flippant member of the station. She comes from a long line of firefighters (including older brother Chet Kelly from Station 51) She appears to take nothing seriously but does have a serious side and a lot of secrets. Like most of the women at Station 18, she is a world class athlete. Her sport is martial arts and she holds black belts in several disciplines. Cassie has the light blue eyes and reddish brown hair; that is a Kelly trademark. Her hair is waist length and relatively unruly and difficult to contain at times. Cassie does have a temper and seldom thinks before she speaks. Cassie does have some difficulty with authority figures and hates to be told what to do.

Firefighter Barbara Yates* aka Barb. Barb has worked as a dispatcher for the county for five years. She is the only member of the station who is married. Her husband Bill is a firefighter at Station 10. Barb was a world class swimmer in high school and college. Although she is fairly quiet she has the ability to command when the need comes up and could probably make captain before her husband.

Firefighter/Specialist (Engineer):Alicia Takimara*  aka Tinker. Although she is tall for a Japanese girl it is a constant battle for her to keep her weight up to department requirements. Tinker is a gymnast and is very strong. She has no trouble driving the heavy engine. She is also very mechanically inclined and there is nothing mechanical or electronic that she can not master and repair.

Firefighter Delila Crenshaw* aka Leila. She is over six feet tall and incredibly strong. She does have firefighting experience. She grew up across the street from the volunteer fire station as a kid in a small town in Georgia. Her father was the Chief and she started going on runs as a young  teenager. She also qualified as Engineer but turned it down for the excitement of actually fighting fires. She left her small town to find excitement. She was a roller derby queen before entering the Fire Department. She also lifts weights. She and Kelly lock horns regularly.

B - shift:

Captain Ruth Williams* -- Also former military (Army) is more layback than Captain Tacy but is equally determined to see the program work. As a black woman, she is even more experienced with confronting prejudice but tends to use humor and sarcasm as weapons in the fight.

Firefighter/Paramedic Susan Parker* --aka Suzy  Also an RN and is senior partner but she is very quiet and never pulls rank on KJ. She is the only daughter of a well to do Southern California car dealer named Charlie Parker who is famous for his outrageous tv commercials. She is a former pro tennis player and is a the classic california beauty but plays that down in efforts to be taken seriously in her job.

Firefighter/Paramedic Karen Jacobs *--aka KJ  At 35 Karen is older than most of the girls at the station and brings maturity and experience to the job. She was formerly with the Coast Guard and knows how to operate within "a man's world." She is as determined as the captains to make this program work. She has a very firm policy against dating men she works with but is friends with Johnny Gage as they share the same ethnic heritage. She does appear to be white not Indian. She has brown hair with a touch of grey which she wears in a long braid while on duty (as do many of the other women) She swims and lifts weights to keep in shape. She has a serious personality but is not above joining in on the fun.

Firefighter/Specialist (Engineer) Rita Knox* -- Rita is very quiet, but she has a sharp wit. She has been known to zap the entire crew with a single comment. She is an excellent engineer and mechanic. She lets her work speak for her. She is in her mid-twenties, 6' tall, with a large build. She is muscular but extremely agile. A former college track star she still competes in the Firefighter Olympics.

Firefighter Maria Apadaca*-- Maria is an outgoing woman with a firery personality, and temper to match. She keeps her temper under control, but when it comes to the surface look out. She is in her early twenties, hispanic with shoulder length black hair, 5'8" tall with a medium build. She played several different sports in high school and still enjoys competition sports. She also lifts weights.

Firefighter Kimberly MacIntyre* (aka Kim)-- Kim is generally layed back with an upbeat personality, but she is serious when needed. She is also in her early twenties, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She is 5'10" tall with a medium build. She looks more like a prom-queen than a firefighter, an image she is constanly fighting against. She loves track and field and softball.

C - shift:

Captain: Wanda "Wolfman" Warner *-- 43 years old. Previously captain of a volunteer fire department (3 years) in a rural Minnesota farming community. Got nickname from encounter with wolf pack, while defending her two sons from attack. Widowed four years. Two sons are still in Minnesota, running the family farm. She came to LA when she heard of the 'experiment' with Station 18. She is still trying to get used to the pace of LA compared with farm life.

Firefighter/Specialist (Engineer): Carol "Grunt" McGuire* -- 34 years old. Ex-PT instructor for the Air Force. Very disciplined. Excellent mechanic, who is always puttering around with some invention or other. 5'10", can fix practically anything. California native, who makes scale models for a hobby.

Firefighter: Anna Maria "Animal" Garcia *-- 23 years old. 5'11", very sturdily built. Was on varsity track and field team, specializing in: shot put, javelin, discus, pentathlon. Is used to challenging and beating the boys at their own game. Originally from San Diego, came to UCLA to study, and ended up staying. Is also a volunteer member of a mountain search and rescue team.

Firefighter: Holly "Jello Queen" [aka "Jello"] Ramsey *-- 27 years old. Renowned for various and bizarre uses of Jello in practical jokes, both at university and during training. Works occasionally as an extra in films. Once thought of a career as a stunt woman, but after suffering third degree burns to her legs in a crash, she dedicated herself almost obsessively to fighting fires. Still does some stunt work.

Firefighter/Paramedic: Katya "Wildcat" Fredericks* -- 26 years old. 5'6", works out with weights whenever possible. Born and raised on a farm, she is used to long, hard days of work. Originally from North Dakota, she moved to Los Angeles when she married Andy Fredericks, engineer for Station 51 'C' shift. Helps out when she can at a friend's farm.

Firefighter/Paramedic: Phyllis "Fiddler" Ross* -- 28 years old. 5'8", deceptively strong.In her spare time, she plays fiddle in a bluegrass band. From a small town near Nashville, she was a member of a volunteer fire department for eight years before moving to Los Angeles. Has been divorced for two years, and is most definitely 'not looking'. Loves to tease Garcia and McGuire whenever possible, and has been known to conspire with Ramsey on occasion.

There is also a large black & white cat called Shamu in residence at the station.

Also part of this universe is the Second Alarm with bartender "Smokey" Joe Callahan and cook Ezekiel "Whitey" White