"It's pretty warm today," says Paul. He rolls back and forth in his garden looking for a shady spot. "Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year," notes his friend, cat Kira, glancing at the weather forecast. "Too bad the parachuting frog isn't here. Otherwise we could cool off together in his pond," she meows. "Yes, but he has something important to do! He's working today with dog Hugo at the volunteer fire department and helps when others are in need!", the bats say proudly. "We could have a race in the woods, it's surely cooler there!", they suggest cheerfully.
Everyone agrees and off they dash to compete. On the first stretch it's downhill and Paul is clearly ahead. Later, on the path across the flower meadow that leads to the woods, cat Kira knows the best shortcuts and is the fastest. But in the forest the bats can't be stopped; they rush away like the wind and are the first to reach the agreed meeting place, the big old beech tree. When cat Kira arrives last she is quite disappointed.
"I'm the best climber for that, wait, I'll show you!" she calls to her friends before she skillfully makes her way up the trunk and branches. At first the friends are impressed, but soon they lose sight of Kira among the many leaves. "Better not climb any higher!" the bats warn her. But by then it's already too late. Right out on a narrow branch Paul and his friends discover Kira, who is crouched up in fear. "I don't know how to get down again, please help me!" she calls to her friends.
"But how can we help you, we can't get up the big tree!" the bats chirp excitedly. "I've got it, we'll just call the parachuting frog, he's so brave, he can surely help you!" Paul reassures the cat and the bats. It doesn't take long before the parachuting frog arrives with dog Hugo and his colleague Frido the firefighter in the bright red fire engine from the volunteer fire department. With a fire protective suit, helmet, gloves and safety boots he does look different than usual, but they recognize him immediately by his mischievous smile.
"Don't worry!" he croaks encouragingly and calls up to Kira: "Just sit still, we'll be with you soon!" Firefighter Frido winks at him and says, "We've handled much worse calls before!" He skillfully positions the fire engine by the tree and the parachuting frog hops quickly onto the ladder. The friends marvel at how fast Firefighter Frido keeps extending the turntable ladder. When they reach Kira's level the parachuting frog helps her onto the ladder and the two are lowered down at a slower pace. Firefighter Frido wraps her carefully in a rescue blanket, gives her something to drink and speaks to her reassuringly.
Relieved and happy the friends sit together. But suddenly they notice strange things. A small bird appears from among the trees, chirping loudly, a deer runs off in fear and a hedgehog curls up into a ball in the bushes. "It smells strange here, don't you think?" asks Paul. "Exactly, and clearly of smoke!" Firefighter Frido states professionally. Then everyone sees small flames leaping from the branches a few trees away. "We arrived just in time!" says the parachuting frog and grabs the fire hose boldly. "I'll request backup from the fire station to be on the safe side!" decides Firefighter Frido. Soon the friends hear the emergency vehicles approaching with loud sirens. A large fire truck is the first to arrive. Firefighter Florian greets his colleagues from the volunteer fire department warmly and gets an overview of the situation. On his command the brave firefighters encircle the flames with strong jets of water from all sides and manage to put out the fire quickly.
"Phew, we're lucky the fire didn't spread to a larger part of the forest, because with the ongoing heat there is an increased risk of wildfires," says Firefighter Frido to Firefighter Florian. "Yes, together we successfully got the fire under control!" "Hooray, the brave firefighters did it!" cheer the bats. "And you really have great equipment!" shouts Paul and rolls back and forth with excitement.
"If you'd like, just come along to our station and we'll show you what it's like here. And to calm your nerves we'll then invite you to a delicious cup of cocoa!" suggests Firefighter Florian. "Oh yes, we've always wanted to ride in a real fire truck!" the friends shout together. There's enough room in the emergency vehicle for everyone and a few minutes later they are standing in the fire station.
"Our vehicle hall has space for two fire engines!" explains Firefighter Florian. The friends are impressed by the vehicles and the equipment. Especially Paul wants to know everything and rolls into every corner. "And what's that up on the roof?" asks cat Kira. "That's our helicopter landing pad. From here our helicopter pilot Hannes starts his missions and lands here again, just like now!" he says, pointing to a small dot in the sky that comes closer with a powerful buzzing and skillfully lands on the landing area before the friends' eyes. "Pretty loud, a helicopter!" whisper the bats. "Yes, but very important when things have to happen quickly on a mission to save people!" emphasizes helicopter pilot Hannes as he climbs out.
When all the friends are allowed to put on a firefighter's helmet themselves they immediately feel much braver! Strengthened by the promised cocoa they sit for a long time and listen to the exciting missions and successes of the firefighting pros. Still, they're glad the alarm bell doesn't ring again — they'd had enough adventure for today!
