Cassie Hanwell is the protagonist and narrator of Things You Save in a Fire. She narrates the story years after the events of the novel have taken place, and many of her direct addresses to the audience show that she understands these events differently in hindsight than she did as they were happening. Cassie is a dedicated and well-trained firefighter and paramedic whose natural ability to remain calm in crisis gives her an advantage among other firefighters. Cassie is like many of Center’s heroines in that her job, considered a traditionally “masculine” one, is made more difficult by the sheer fact that she is a woman. She experiences sexism from the other firefighters on her team, yet even when one co-worker’s misogyny becomes violent, she is never deterred from proving herself to be an exceptional firefighter. On occasion, Cassie even uses this prejudice to motivate herself to be better than all those around her, a quest helped by her considerable experience and determination.

Despite her bravery and hard work, Cassie struggles with many issues from her traumatic past. Her 16th birthday was marked by two traumatic events: The man she had a crush on sexually assaulted her, and her mother abandoned her and her father.