Among them are the fearless firefighter Bong Do-jin (Son Ho-jun) and headstrong paramedic Song Seol (Gong Seung-yeon), who we meet for the first time when an emergency call interrupts them and their colleagues as they’re about to dig into some instant noodles, which they are forced to abandon.

Ho-gae’s reputation precedes him, as does his nickname – ‘Jindo Gae’ (Jindo Dog), which is only one consonant removed from his real one. Ho-gae, the series lead, is the intractable and indomitable detective who bows down to nothing but pure justice.

The series begins with him before a committee for a misconduct hearing. He beat up a suspect outside a police precinct and now has to make amends. He has a prepared speech and the support of his father, a respected prosecutor, but when push comes to shove he can’t help himself.

Ho-gae discards his carefully worded speech and doubles down on his expletive-laden criticism of the suspect. Naturally this gets him transferred, which is how he ends up at the Taewon Police Precinct working with Do-jin and Seol.

Without so much as an introduction, Do-jin and Seol meet their new detective partner during one of their emergency calls.

The night before, Kim So-hee (Lee Ji-won), a young woman, was attacked and abducted while walking home. So-hee wakes up in a dark room covered in a transparent tarpaulin. She tries to escape and to her surprise finds an unlocked door which opens onto a cosily decorated flat awash with the morning’s light.

Unfortunately she’s not alone, quickly finding herself tangoing with a malevolent killer who toys with her before stabbing her in the thigh. She locks herself back in the tarp-covered room and slowly bleeds out from her serious wound, but thankfully she has Bluetooth headphones to hand, with which she’s able to make an emergency call.

With a punctured artery and draining battery power, time is of the essence, but the first responders can only track So-hee’s location to a cluster of flat towers.

Racing against the clock, Ho-gae, Do-jin and Seol’s first mission as a group is a trial by fire. Their differing styles put them at odds with each other, but there’s no time for observing social decorum.

Instead, they tussle and brainstorm new ideas until they solve the problem at hand.

Despite being new to the group, Ho-gae immediately seeks to take charge with his brash and domineering style. He takes risks and, when other options fail, he’s the first to suggest a dangerous tactic that would put So-hee at risk.

Filled with tension and immediacy, this debut episode of The First Responders is, for the most part, a compelling watch. The flat’s location and daytime setting add a relatable element, making it easy to sink into the situation.

The lead characters, who we will spend time with each week as the victims and villains change with each episode, are all archetypes, some more clearly drawn than others at the outset.

Ho-gae is virile and masculine, but his blustery confidence isn’t tempered by much in the way of charm. Though an eventual backstory may change that, he’s a bit off-putting for the moment.

Seol is a typically capable female heroine, who asserts herself just enough to avoid damaging the fragile male egos of her colleagues. It’s a thin role, but Gong seems comfortable in it for the moment.

Least defined among the trio is Do-jin, who doesn’t give off much of a vibe besides a faint steadfastness.

We’ll have a better idea of where the show is going this coming weekend, but given the various unfortunate parallels with the Itaewon disaster in the opening episode – including images of a young woman receiving CPR, and the show’s fictional but eerily similar Taewon setting – for some viewers that might already be too late.

The makers of the series will surely be hoping viewers can look past this unintentional resemblance to a real tragedy, not least because the show benefited from a rare two-season order straight off the bat, with a second batch of 12 episodes due next year.

The First Responders is streaming on Disney+.