The Side Quest, Into the Fire, is one of The Responders faction quests in Fallout 76. This quest can be started by arriving at the Charleston Fire Department on the border of The Forest and Ash Heap on the south side of Charleston. Search the Overseer's Cache directly inside the building to begin.

As you arrive at the Charleston Fire Department, you will find this former Responders Base was also a staging area for their elite team who brave the fires of the Ash Heap - dubbed the Fire Breathers. Much like Flatwoods, terminals had been set up to register new applicants - but prospective Fire Breathers will have to pass a few tests.

Pass the Knowledge Exam

Just beyond the main lobby of the Fire Department is a Knowledge Exam Room, full of several terminals and school desks. If you wish to start the path to becoming a Fire Breather, you'll need to pass the test by answering all 7 questions correctly. You can try as many times as you like, and most of the questions are about general safety.

Optional - Search the Station for Study Materials

In the Knowledge Exam Room, you can find some pamphlets that detail what to do in case of smoke, water, or gas, and there is also a pamphlet on dealing with the Scorched. The room beyond is a gym, and one of the lockers has yet more items on safety guidelines.

Out in the garage, search more lockers and you can find a first aid note with a recipe you'll need for the test.

However, if you wish to ignore all this, head up to the second floor and enter the main office to find a terminal with a holotape nearby, as well as a cheat sheet. Despite the Protectrons warning against cheating, they won't see you read it, so you'll have the answers, but sometimes the question order is randomized.

The full question and answer guide can be found below:

• Q: The tunnel you're traversing has begun filling up with a strange gas and you're without your breathing apparatus. What do you do?
• A: Evacuate as quickly as possible.

• Q: While traversing a smoke-filled building, your breathing apparatus has failed. Which of the following will serve as the best replacement?
• A: A water-soaked rag

• Q: One of your fellow Fire Breathers has been burned. The area is painful to the touch, but no blisters are forming. You've applied a cool compress. What's the next thing you should do?
• A: Gently bind the burn with clean bandages.

• Q: While exploring a collapsed mine, your team leader flashes their safety light quickly three times. What does this mean?
• A: Retreat immediately

• Q: One of your squadmates has caught a case of Sludge Lung. Which of the following sets of ingredients, when cooked together, can be used as a cure?
• A: Purified Water, 2 Ash Rose, 2 Blight, 2 Soot Flower

• Q: You've stumbled upon a band of Scorch-diseased people brandishing clubs. Which of the following is the ONLY acceptable method of engaging them?
• A: Fall back and engage from a distance with firearms

• Q: You've captured a Scorch-infected man who you recognize as a childhood friend. What do you do?
• A: End his life as mercifully as possible.

Getting a perfect score will allow you to pass the first part of this quest - and you'll be given coordinates to take the Physical Exam, located back at Charleston up to the north. Visit the trading post on the second floor if you need to get any supplies, then head north. The physical exam is located in the Charleston Herald. Simply follow the quest marker and red painted arrows until you find the Firebreathers Physical Exam Terminal.

Before you begin grab the Boiled Water from the nearby fridge and use it to refill your Thirst meter. When you are ready to take the exam, use the terminal and initiate the exam.

Runner's High

Runner's High is a the name of physical exam quest. This quest requires you to run back and forth between two switches, named Point A and Point B, one time within 3 minutes.

Begin the quest through the terminal, wait 15 seconds, then press the Point A switch as soon as you hear the voice say the test has begun. Run forward across the bridge then follow the arrows towards Point B. You will need to cross a bridge into the next building, head up one floor, then leap back down to street level. Follow the arrows along the ground that will lead you to Point B right next to the Charleston Capitol Building.

You are likely to run into Feral Ghouls, Super Mutants, and Nascent Snallygasters along the way. Ignore them if you want, but it will probably make things easier if you just kill them and keep moving. Once you hit Point B keep following the arrows back to the Charleston Herald. Climb up the fire escape outside the building and return to Point A to complete the quest. If you fail on your first attempt don't worry: you can try as many times as you like, and all of the enemies you've killed won't respawn which makes things even easier.

Use the terminal once again and select "Initiate Final Exam" to get your next objective which is located near Belching Betty to the south. Fast travel or walk back to the fire station to scrap and sell whatever loot you have, then keep walking south toward the quest marker. You will have to walk past the Supermutant infested bar, The Rusty Pick. Either run past or engage with them for some extra loot and experience.

Once you reach Belching Betty head into the metal shack near the entrance and speak with the Protectron Bernie. he will give you a Fire Breather Kit Ticket, which you can use on the nearby Kit Dispenser to obtain a Fire Breather Helmet, Fire Breather Uniform, Anti-Scorched Training Pistol, and some 10mm Rounds. The helmet protects you from the poor air quality, and the pistol does bonus damage to Scorched enemies, so equipping both is highly recommended. Once you are geared up it's time to head into the Belching Betty and find the emergency beacon.

Belching Betty is a fairly straightforward area, packed with dozens of Scorched enemies in tight spaces. Head into the office directly to the left when you walk in and grab the Bobby Pins off the table. Search the other nearby rooms for any useful loot or ammo, then head past the gate and into the actual mine. The first half of the mine is a single path, guarded by various Scorched enemies. Many are equipped with melee weapons, so just sit back and pick them off with your training pistol.

When you reach the fork in the paths, I highly recommend following the right set of tracks. Both paths lead to the final room at the bottom of the mine, but the right path lets you enter from above rather than below, giving you high ground advantage over any Scorched enemies. Follow the path, kill the Scorched, and make your way to the bottom room containing the emergency beacon.

Clear out all of the Scorched in the final room, then make your way over to the emergency beacon. Loot the Fire Breather corpses on the ground, heal yourself, then press the button which will summon more Scorched enemies. After the Scorched are dead you have two choices: head back up the way you came, or follow the alternate path back out of the mine. If you head down the alternate path you will find a small room containing a workbench, first aid kit, and a machine with a fusion core you can take.

Once you are done in the mine, head outside and speak to Bernie once more. He will congratulate you on completing the test and tell you to head back to the Charleston Fire Department to complete your registration. Warp or walk back to the station then find the Fire Breather Master Terminal on the second floor. Register as a new Fire Breather, and check out the Schematics option for some free plans. Your final objective is to listen to the priority message. Head up to the Trading Post on the second floor and press the button marked by the quest marker to listen to Hank Madigan’s message and complete the quest.