Athena Grant }}
Athena Grant (née Carter) (
Angela Bassett) is an
LAPD patrol sergeant, and mother of May and Harry from her first marriage to Michael Grant. Athena left her home in Florida for Los Angeles to become a police officer as a result of the failed investigation into the murder of her friend and neighbor Tanya Kingston (a murder she helps to solve 45 years later). She is extremely independent, preferring a one-person patrol unit to working with a partner (although she does work with detectives on certain cases) and is extremely tenacious when it comes to solving crimes or chasing down suspects (including the killer of her fiancé decades later after the murder weapon is recovered). However, she can be impetuous and has gone into dangerous situations without back-up (on one occasion getting ambushed and almost killed by a dangerous suspect). Athena and Michael divorce at the end of the first season, after being married for fourteen years. She begins dating Bobby Nash, marrying him at the end of the second season. Because of Buck's own impetuous behavior in dangerous or stressful situations, she is both exasperated by and understanding of him. Due to the traumas, she has suffered in the past, she rarely shows her emotional side (except to Hen) but has begun allowing Bobby in (although at the beginning of Season 7, she has begun to worry that apart from the constant excitement and danger in both their jobs she and Bobby may not have enough in common to sustain their marriage).
Pepi Sonuga portrays a younger Athena during the flashback scenes of an episode of season 3 in which she learns that the weapon used to murder her fiancé has been found.
Evan Buckley Evan "Buck" Buckley (
Oliver Stark) is a firefighter at Station 118 and Maddie's younger brother. He joined the LAFD after a series of jobs in various parts of the country(the moniker
Buck evolved in the fire academy where there were three other cadets named Evan). While he can be impetuous to the point of recklessness while in the field, he is dedicated to his job. Because of his dysfunctional relationship with his own parents, he sees and trusts Bobby as a father figure and the members of the 118 as his family. He convinced his sister Maddie to join the 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch and introduced Abby's mother's former caretaker Carla to Eddie Diaz to help with Eddie's son Christopher. Buck was an uncontrollable womanizer at first (which nearly cost him his job in Season 1, since he was using LAFD property to facilitate his liaisons), but after meeting Abby he started looking for serious relationships. After Abby's departure, he reverted to "hit-and-run" relationships for a while, before dating multiple women - including TV reporter Taylor Kelly. In the third season, Buck is not cleared for duty after the fire truck accident, so Eddie drops Chris off so he can babysit him. They spend the day at the boardwalk until a tsunami hits. Buck does his best to protect Christopher, as well as helping other civilians get to safety. When another wave hits, he and Chris get separated. Buck looks everywhere for him and eventually has to tell Eddie what happened. However, Chris was safe with a woman and she said he was asking for Buck. The next day, Eddie drops Chris off again with Buck, since he trusts him the most with his son. Buck works on getting back into the 118, but Bobby doesn’t think it's safe due to his injuries. He ends up suing the department for his job back, which causes a divide between him and the rest of the 118. Eventually Bobby lets Buck come back, but he is on a tight leash. In Season 6, he agrees to be a sperm donor for an old friend and his wife who are having fertility problems. During a dry thunderstorm in Season 6, he is struck by lightning which causes his heart to stop beating. However, he is successfully revived, and ends up gaining math skills due to this (was shown to not be his strongest subject in the past). In the seventh season, he realizes he is bisexual, and begins dating former 118 firefighter Tommy Kinard, though they later break up after Tommy suspects Buck of being in love with Eddie. In season 9, after Buck and Eddie attend the National Firefighting Games in Nashville, they're involved in a car accident in New Mexico orchestrated by waitress Bonnie and her ex-husband Earl. Though they both survive, Buck is abducted by Bonnie, who believes Buck to be a replacement for her brain-dead son. After Eddie rescues Buck, the stress of the kidnapping, Bobby's death, and his physical injuries lead Buck develop a opioid dependency after being previously being prescribed oxycodone for his injuries. After quitting cold turkey, he begins to suffer from a brutal withdrawal process. It gets to a point where, after being left alone in an ambulance, he considers stealing more medication to ease his pain, though he ultimately decides not to. He later confesses his dependency to Chimney, who arranges for the 118 to care for Buck, so he is able to manage the rest of his withdrawal symptoms with his found family by his side.
Henrietta Wilson Henrietta "Hen" Wilson (
Aisha Hinds) is a firefighter & paramedic at Station 118. Originally a pharmaceutical representative, she left that job and joined the LAFD as a paramedic after saving her life coach with CPR. She was accepted at Station 118, but like Chimney, was met with prejudice and sexism from the captain and teammates. She became partners and close friends with Chimney due to their shared experiences of being minorities within the house. Hen had also met and befriended police sergeant, Athena Grant, who helped encourage her to stand up for herself within the firehouse. She was originally in an emotionally abusive relationship with Eva, who was a drug addict. Eva was then imprisoned, and Hen met Karen (via a blind date Chimney set up) and later married her. They have an adopted son named Denny, who is the biological son of Eva. After Eva's release from prison, Hen cheated on Karen with her. This gave Eva a reason to try to get custody of Denny, claiming Hen's infidelity proved that her household was unfit for her son. In Season 3, Hen decides to apply to medical school and is accepted but is unable to fully balance her hectic school schedule with her paramedic job and her family life, and fails a critical examination. She is allowed to return to medical school, but eventually quits in Season 6, preferring to remain a paramedic. In Bobby's absence, she is Interim Captain. At the start of the seventh season, the 118 responded to a vehicular collision, where Hen was acting captain while Bobby was away. An intoxicated young man caused the crash and Hen offered medical treatment, but the man refused, leading him to die of his injuries. Hen and Karen later foster their second child, a young girl named Mara Driskell. In the beginning, Mara has trouble adjusting and acts out, which makes the couple almost consider removing her. But Hen ultimately decides to not give up on her and they find out both of Mara's parents died on the same night due to an overdose. After showing her they won't give up on her and they care, Mara starts enjoying her new home. Hen and Karen decide to adopt Mara, but their application is blocked and their fostering license is revoked. It's revealed that the man who refused medical treatment and later died ended up being the son of Councilwoman Olivia Ortiz, who was angered at Hen for letting her son die. In the eighth season, Hen is able to expose Ortiz for her corruption, allowing her and Karen to re-assume custody of Mara and have their foster license reinstated.
Howard Han Howard "Chimney" Han (
Kenneth Choi) is the Fire Captain at Station 118, and Maddie's husband. The reason why he's nicknamed "Chimney" and how he got the nickname is a closely guarded secret and to date has not been revealed. He grew up in the Los Angeles area with his mother while his father returned to South Korea, divorced Chimney's mother and remarried; as a result, their already strained relationship worsened. The elder Mr. Han openly expressed his disappointment in Chimney's chosen profession. After his mother's death, Chimney was raised by the Lee family (his mother and Mrs. Lee were best friends) and looks on them as his family. There, he developed a close bond with their son, Kevin Lee and both worked at a karaoke sushi bar the former managed. A fire burned down the building, but it gave both of them a new sense of passion and enter the fire academy together. They both passed the academy; Kevin was placed at Station 133 and Chimney to 118. Upon his arrival, Chimney was met with a prejudiced boss and was not allowed to go on calls, being forced to do grunt work. The other firefighters were also intolerant and would joke around at Chimney's expense. Eventually he met Eli Cobb, a paramedic, which led to Chimney deciding to become a firefighter-paramedic. During a building fire, both the 118 and 133 responded, but Kevin sacrifices himself to save a pregnant woman. At another call, Chimney correctly deduces there's a gas leak and gets Athena Grant to evacuate the area. Fellow firefighter Tommy Kinard was also trapped inside, but was able to be saved before the explosion, thus Chimney earning the firehouse's respect. In the first season, Chimney gets into a car crash with a truck carrying rebars. One rebar goes through his head, but he miraculously survives. In the second season, he meets Buck's sister, Maddie, whom he takes a liking to and goes out on a few dates. He meets and befriends her abusive husband, Doug Kendall, although he is unaware of his true identity. One night when Chimney was coming over to Maddie's house, Doug gets through the gates and stabs him. This allowed Doug to kidnap Maddie. In the third season, Chimney and Maddie's relationship continues to grow and they officially start going out. His younger half-brother, Albert, makes a surprise visit after he secretly left South Korea to escape their father, with whom he had been living for a while. At first, Chimney is cold towards him but after hashing things out, he starts embracing Albert as his brother and they live together for a while. At the end of the season, Maddie and Chimney find out she's pregnant and the baby is Chimney’s. In the fourth season, Chimney has been staying with Buck, while Maddie is with Albert during lockdown. While Chimney is being overly cautious as to not risk Maddie getting COVID, he is also nervous to be living with her. Eventually he does decide to go back home with Maddie, while Albert goes to live with Buck. During a pile up on the highway, Maddie goes into labor and gives birth to their daughter, Jee-Yun, who is named after Chimney's late mother. Maddie starts developing
postpartum depression, and it worsens due to Chimney's busy work schedule. Chimney tries to be there for Maddie, but also doesn't fully understand the state of her condition. When Maddie disappears for several months, it leaves Chimney distraught and emotional, and at first believes someone was forcing her to leave. He decides to track Maddie down and bring her home, bringing Jee-Yun along for the ride. His search leads him to Boston, where he stays with his old friend and colleague, Eli, and also volunteers at the Boston Medical Corps. When responding to a woman for alcohol poisoning, he reunites with Maddie, who had been getting treatment for her postpartum in Boston for the past six months. The two of them talk and tearfully apologize to one another before Chimney takes Maddie to reunite with Jee-Yun. When they return to Los Angeles, they decide to break up but continue to co-parent. In the sixth season, Chimney and Maddie get back together, realizing they still love each other. They buy a house together and throw a house warming party. Albert returns from Korea, but to Chimney's surprise and displeasure, had brought their dad along to meet Jee-Yun. Albert thought it would be a good idea for Jee-Yun to have a relationship with her grandfather, despite Chimney's own poor relationship with him. Chimney decides to propose to Maddie, but continues to go back and forth on whether or not to go through with this proposal. He eventually gets the ring but misplaces it and thinks it is a sign to not marry her. However, it turned out Jee-Yun had it and Maddie found it in her dollhouse. After trying it on and not being able to get it off, Maddie decides to propose to Chimney instead and they get engaged. He also aids Hen's investigation into Jonah's past and crimes, which leads to both of them being kidnapped. It is revealed he was Karen Wilson's neighbor and friend. He had set up a fake blind date for her, as well as making Hen think they were meeting up for drinks so the two could meet. His plan worked, as they're still married in the present. Their wedding is shown in the seventh season, but it is halted due to Chimney going missing. He had caught an illness while on a call, which caused him to forget almost 20 years of his life and wandered to the old sushi bar he previously worked at. While his friends and family searched for him, Chimney hallucinated the deceased Doug Kendall and Kevin Lee. After "talking" to Kevin's ghost, he manages to make it back to Mr. and Mrs. Lee's house and he is taken to the hospital to be treated. Maddie and Chimney get married in the hospital. In the eighth season, Maddie and Chimney become Mara Driskell's temporary foster parents in order to help Hen and Karen be able to still see her. This gets Maddie thinking about having another baby after seeing Jee-Yun and Mara together. They later find out that Maddie is pregnant with a boy. During this season, Chimney is exposed to CCHF when the team responds to a call in a bio-hazard lab. As this is a sped up strain of the virus, he suffers from heavy bleeding (especially for his nose). Fearing his death, the team sneaks in the only antidote to save him. This means that Bobby Nash, who was also infected, but hid it from everyone, ends up succumbing to the virus. In a flash-forward at the end of the season, Chimney reveals his and Maddie's son is named Robert Nash Han.
Maddie Han }}
Maddie Han (née Buckley) (
Jennifer Love Hewitt) (season 2 – present) is a 9-1-1 operator, Buck's sister, and Chimney's wife, who replaced Abby Clark as the series' main dispatcher. Originally a nurse at a Boston hospital, Maddie fled to Los Angeles to escape her emotionally and physically abusive husband, Doug Kendall. Buck was instrumental in helping her get a job as a 911 Emergency Dispatcher, as Maddie didn't want to keep being a nurse but she still wanted to be able to help other people. She meets Chimney when he helps her move into her new house and they go out on a few dates. Doug tracks Maddie down in L.A. and befriends Chimney, albeit under a fake name, in order to keep tabs on her. He manages to get past her security gate, stabs Chimney, and kidnaps her. While stopping at a gas station, the cashier attempts to help Maddie escape Doug, only to be shot and killed by the latter. Doug brings her to the woods where there are a bunch of lodges. Maddie attacks him and after a brief struggle Maddie manages to stab Doug, killing him. Only as Buck is bringing her home does Maddie learn that Chimney survived his stabbing. In the third season, she attempts to help a woman who is being abused by her husband, but in the end the woman proves she cannot be helped and stays with her husband. In the episode "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1", the call center is taken over by a group of thieves, holding the entire staff hostage in a planned heist. Their plan is then foiled with the help of Athena & LAPD. Maddie's relationship with Chimney also grows, with the two officially dating and at the end of the season the couple find out they are having a baby together. In the fourth season, a pregnant Maddie is in isolation with Chimney's brother, Albert, in an attempt to keep her from getting COVID. Eventually the two move back in with each other. Maddie also trains Athena's daughter, May, to be a dispatcher. During a call for a highway pile up, Maddie goes into labor and attempts to keep working, but is eventually forced to go to the hospital. She gives birth to a baby girl, Jee-Yun, who they name after Chimney's late mother. After the birth of Jee-Yun, Maddie starts experiencing
postpartum depression, which causes her to quit her job at dispatch. In season five, Maddie's postpartum worsens and while giving Jee-Yun a bath, she accidentally lets her slip underwater due to dozing off. This scares Maddie into believing she isn't a good mother, and her daughter isn't safe with her. She records a video for Chimney to explain her disappearance and drops Jee-Yun off at the fire station. She heads to Boston where she enters a program for women diagnosed with PPD for six months, and is absent for several episodes (Hewitt was on maternity leave). After some checkups, her condition is eventually cured but decides to stay in Boston for a bit longer. Chimney, who has been searching for Maddie since she left, runs into her while volunteering for Boston Medical Corps. The two talk things out and she returns home, although they decide to break up for the time being. Maddie resumes her job at dispatch at the end of the season. In the sixth season, she and Chimney get back together, where they buy a new house together. Chimney also decides to propose to her, but goes back and forth on whether to go through with it. He also misplaces the ring, which Maddie later finds. She then proposes to him instead, and they get married the following season. She soon becomes pregnant with their second child in season 8, who they later find out is a boy. In Season 8, Maddie is involved in a call where the distressed caller begs her for help, so as to not hurt a child. Reflecting on her PPD, she urges the caller to commit suicide. However, later it is revealed the caller is actually a detective with
dissociative identity disorder, and kidnaps Maddie due to her uncovering the caller is a
serial killer. There she gets her throat slashed (which later causes her to temporarily lose her voice due to psychological trauma), but is rescued by Athena and Chimney.
Edmundo Diaz Edmundo "Eddie" Diaz (
Ryan Guzman) (season 2 – present) is a firefighter and Christopher's father. A Texas native, he served in the
United States Army as a combat medic and moved to Los Angeles after being discharged, joining the 118 fresh out of the academy. He served in Afghanistan and his combat experience is shown through his ability to think quickly on his feet even under duress with minimal back-up. He married his high school sweetheart, Shannon, and had a son named Christopher when they were both 19. In his origin episode, "Eddie Begins", he discovers their son has cerebral palsy and he re-enlists for another tour in 2013. This causes a strain on his marriage, which was already having issues but Eddie left anyways, saying it was to provide for the family. Shannon was left to raise their son alone while Eddie was deployed, which put a lot of stress on her. When he returned, Shannon left Texas to take care of her sick mom in California as well as escape her marital issues with Eddie. She still didn't return when her mom died and was MIA for two years, leaving Eddie to raise Christopher alone. His relationship with his own parents was rocky at best, as they viewed Eddie incapable of taking care of his son. They insisted Christopher live with them for consistency, which causes Eddie to storm out mid-argument. He decides to move to Los Angeles to escape them, taking Christopher with him. Upon entering the 118, Eddie fits right in with the team, much to Buck's jealousy. He assures Buck there's no need for them to be at odds, and they eventually earn each other's respect during one of their first calls together. Eddie struggles to juggle the life of a single dad to a kid with special needs, as well as the long work hours as a firefighter. Buck introduces him to Carla Price, the home nurse of Abby Clark's late mother, Patricia, and she becomes a nanny and friend for the Diazes. Shannon returns to Eddie's life when he needs her in order to get Christopher into a school for special needs kids. They start sleeping with each other in secret for two months, with Christopher being unaware of her presence. Eddie is hesitant to let Shannon see him due not trusting she won't walk out on them again. She eventually reunites with Christopher on Christmas Day and the three of them fall into a routine. As they wonder where their relationship stands, Shannon thinks she might be pregnant which makes Eddie want them to be a family again. At a dinner, Shannon reveals she isn't pregnant and thinks they should get a divorce, as she is still learning to be a mother. However, Shannon is hit by a car and dies on the way to the hospital. In the third season, Eddie leaves Christopher with Buck, as the latter couldn't go back to work due to the bombing injury. A tsunami hits L.A. and the 118 helps the victims, unaware Buck and Christopher were out on the boardwalk when the wave hit. Eddie meets firefighter Lena Bosko (
Ronda Rousey) and befriends her. At the end of the night, Eddie finds Buck, who is about to tell him he lost Christopher, before a woman had found him. The next day, Eddie drops Christopher off again at Buck's loft to babysit. Eddie joins an illegal fight club to cope with his anger over Shannon's passing, and gets arrested after knocking one of his opponents out. He also struggles to help Christopher deal with his trauma over his near-death experience with the tsunami. In the fourth season, a sniper targeting firefighters is on the loose and Eddie is shot in the shoulder. Buck and some other firefighters manage to save Eddie and get him to the hospital. After the sniper is caught, Eddie reveals to Buck he updated his will. He named Buck to be the
legal guardian of his son Christopher, as Eddie trusts him the most to take care of Christopher if he died. In the fifth season, Eddie starts experiencing panic attacks due to a multiple things such as the thought of commitment to his then girlfriend, Ana Flores, and his shooting. In "Brawl in Cell Block 9-1-1", he and Buck are taken hostage by two escaped prisoners, which leaves Eddie shaken. In the episode "Wrapped in Red", Christopher gets obsessed with having a perfect Christmas and expresses his fear of Eddie being dead next year. This leads to Eddie making an impulsive decision by quitting the 118, thinking about what's best for his son. He ends up joining the call center as a liaison, which he doesn't really enjoy. Eddie attempts to return to the 118, but Bobby refuses as he doesn't think he's mentally ready. After some therapy sessions, Eddie tries to reach out to people he saved while in the army, only to find out they all died. Christopher calls Buck when he hears crashing and crying coming from Eddie's room. It is clear that Eddie is dealing with a lot of grief and trauma, and not properly dealing with it. When the call center catches on fire, Eddie jumps in to help, restoring his passion as a firefighter and rejoins the 118. In season 7, Eddie starts dating Marisol. After a few bumps in their relationship (including temporarily moving in together), it seems to be fairly stable. However, during one of their dates, Eddie sees a doppelganger of his wife, a shop-assistant and actor named Kim. This causes Eddie to regress his progress as he starts an emotional affair with. She plays into this fantasy (including dressing up as Shannon), which Christopher and Marisol walk in on. This ends his relationship with Marisol, and causes Chris to move back to Texas with his grandparents. In season 8 Chris chooses to remain with his grandparents, so Eddie decides to move back to Texas to spend more time with his son. As such, he buys a
fixer-upper house, and sublets his LA one to Buck. Despite having glowing references, he doesn't get a job at the Fire Department, leading him to become an
Uber driver. Following Bobby's death, he and Christopher move back to LA where he rejoins the 118.
May Grant May Grant (Corinne Massiah) (seasons 2–6, 9; recurring seasons 1, 8; guest season 7) is Athena and Michael's daughter. She attempts suicide in the first season due to being bullied by some girls in her school. Athena manages to save her in time and she recovers. She and Athena bump heads a lot over their views on life, as well as Athena's job as a cop. After she graduates high school, she decides to take time off before going to college and gets a job as a dispatcher in season four, despite Athena's initial resistance. However May stated the reason for her becoming a dispatcher so that Athena wouldn't be alone during calls, after the confrontation with Jeffrey Hudson. In season five, May starts a rivalry with veteran dispatcher, Claudette Collins, after the latter continuously ridicules her whenever they worked together. She then leaves her job at dispatch to attend college full-time at
University of Southern California, making occasional appearances since then. After graduating college, she considers becoming a lawyer to follow in Athena's footsteps. However, after being rejected for an internship at a law firm, she realizes that law is not her desired path; she decides to apply to nursing school instead. She also begins dating Ravi Panikkar, a firefighter at the 118, further cementing the "found family" of the 118.
Harry Grant Harry Grant (Marcanthonee Jon Reis (seasons 1–6) and Elijah M. Cooper (season 7 – present)) (seasons 2–6, 9; recurring seasons 1, 7–8) is Athena and Michael's son. In the fifth season, Harry is kidnapped by serial rapist, Jeffrey Hudson, as revenge against Athena for arresting him. After his rescue, Harry has trouble coping with his trauma and it causes him to blame both Athena and Michael. He later goes to live with Michael in Florida, but comes back to L.A. in the series' 100th episode after punching a store clerk and is now wanted by the police. Although he doesn’t serve jailtime, he must remain in L.A. to serve his community service. In the ninth season, Harry dropped out of high school as soon as he turned 18 and started working as a barista. He decided to become a firefighter, much to Athena's dismay. He completes his training and is placed at the 118. Marcanthonee Jon Reis portrayed Harry in the first five seasons and declined to return in the seventh season. He was replaced by Elijah M. Cooper.
Christopher Diaz Christopher Diaz (Gavin McHugh) (season 3 – present; recurring season 2) is Eddie's son and was born with
cerebral palsy. He develops a strong relationship with Buck, leading to Eddie officially makes Buck Christopher's legal guardian in case of anything serious happening to Eddie. He is extremely sweet-natured and shows remarkable empathy with other troubled people. While he seems to have come to terms with the death of his mother, Shannon, (killed in a traffic accident in Season 2), at the beginning to Season 7, he is worried that he has begun to forget her (which Eddie remedies by giving Christopher a letter she had written to Christopher years ago). At the end of Season 7, he leaves to live with his grandparents in Texas upon learning of Eddie's affair with Kim (a look-alike of Shannon, briefly having the impression that his mother was alive). At the end of Season 8, he moves back to LA. == Former main characters ==