A rescue operation on Catalina Island turns dangerous when two SAF3 members get trapped by a raging fire. Their selfless act of sacrifice will save a little girl's life but will leave the SAF3 team mourning the loss of one of their own.

Reeling from the loss of their leader, the SAF3 team suffers another major blow when the existence of the their program is questioned by a board of review. Until the outcome is divulged, it is business as usual and the SAF3 team pulls together to make a dramatic car rescue.

The investigation into the SAF3 team's actions in the deadly Catalina fire carries on, while one of the team's members struggles with major burn injuries and haunting emotional scars. The remainder of the team is put into jeopardy while undertaking a dangerous underwater rescue.

Confident they will be reinstated after being unfairly suspended, the SAF3 team carries on with normal training activities. A drill lead by a trauma nurse in the Los Angeles forest turns into a real rescue when the team find a welder trapped in a girder fighting for his life.

Crushed by the news that the SAF3 program has been terminated, the team rallies together to overturn the decision. Anxiously awaiting the outcome of their appeal, they focus their energy on supporting one of their own as he faces a new life.

After a string of trying personal events, SAF3 is rewarded with a posthumous gift from their former leader, a new location for their headquarters. One of the team members must face her fear of heights in a dangerous cliff rescue, while another struggles to reclaim his position back on the team.