by K. C. Crowne
Sarah slipped her mask and breathing apparatus on like a seasoned pro. It was hard to believe that petite little redhead was as fierce as any guy I'd ever worked with and could hold her own against any of them. She might be small, but she could stand toe to toe with anybody, and took no shit. She'd come a long way in the two years she'd worked underneath me.
They bounded up the steps that led to the door, and into the structure first. Wes kicked open the front door, which cracked and popped on the hinges as if it was ready to go. They disappeared into the interior of the building to scout the fire, as well as check the rooms, searching for anybody who might need help inside. The place was supposed to be empty, but then, so was that warehouse earlier too, and that ended up not being the case. That was thanks to Owen, but I still didn't want to take any chances. Our job was to preserve life.
As usual, Luke and I handled the hose, and I was in charge of the nozzle. I didn't really need Owen's help with the hose, but I wanted him to stay by me because I felt like I needed to keep an eye on him. I hated having to play babysitter, but I didn't see that I had much choice in the matter. He did exactly as I said this time around though, so that was a start.
The radio crackled to life in our headsets. It was Wes.
“Fire seems concentrated in the kitchen, to your right when you enter,” he said. “Sarah and I are heading down the hall to make sure there's no one in here.”
As soon as we stepped inside the burning home, the thick clouds of smoke made it impossible to see. I looked to the right, and quickly checked my thermal cam. Wes had been right, the fire seemed concentrated in the kitchen area. At least, it was for the moment. That could always change in a heartbeat. But for now, the kitchen and part of the dining area registered as one, big heat signature, on the thermal cam.
“Okay, Luke, you ready?” I shouted to be heard.
“Ready,” he called back.
We moved the cumbersome hose through the house. Luke was a few feet behind me, and Owen, a few yards behind that, making sure the hose didn't kink or get snagged on anything. Yeah, it was about as glamorous as crowd control, but at least he was in the house with us this time.
The smoke got thicker and darker the closer to the kitchen we got. Yeah, there was no doubt about the point of origin for this blaze. Sweat rolled down my face, and I could feel it sliding down my body beneath my suit. The flames danced all around us, lighting the smoke with an orange and red glow from within.
The sound of the blaze as it ate everything in its path was loud. Growling. This fire wasn't the biggest, but it sure as hell was hungry, and was devouring everything it touched. Beside us, a dining room table burned, its legs and top engulfed in flames.
I pulled up short and motioned for Luke to stop. It wasn't necessary, but it was habit. We'd worked together so long that Luke could read me like a book. He anticipated my every move during a fire and was always ready to act at a moment's notice.
“Okay, let's open it up,” I called.
“Ready,” Luke said.
We stood just outside the doorway of the kitchen. I wanted to get the hose going before we went in. Wanted to knock down some of the flames before we had to go into the small, enclosed space. From where I stood, I could see flames slithering up the walls, licking at the ceiling. I held us back out for the moment, to get some water in, and hopefully extinguish some of the flames. The last thing I wanted was to go barreling in, and have the ceiling cave in on us, burying us beneath the flaming rubble.
“Hold on tight, Owen,” I called. “We're opening her up.”
Turning the valve on the nozzle, I braced myself for the sheer power of the blast of water that came roaring out. Even after all the years I'd been on the job, that first jolt of the hose coming to life never failed to take me by surprise.
I gripped the hose tightly, and held on to the handle, guiding the blast of water toward the flames on the far side of the kitchen. I snuck a quick glance back, and saw Luke handling his portion of the hose, helping keep it from flying around wildly. Owen was a big, strong kid, but I could see him struggling to maintain his grip and balance. He was a physical specimen and had managed to pass all of the tests with flying colors, but he was seeing there was a world of difference between testing in a controlled environment, and actually battling a fire amidst all the chaos.
It was fine though. Luke and I had been at it for so long that we were well practiced, and well versed. Each of us knew how the other thought, moved, and were able to anticipate each other's actions. The two of us could man the hose well enough on our own and didn't need Owen. But I wanted him to see just how chaotic it was inside a burning structure, and really show him the importance of teamwork.
The flames on the far wall started to flicker out beneath the steady, constant stream of the hose. With the fire starting to gutter out, I took a step across the threshold, and guided my team into the kitchen. I flinched to the left, as a burst of flame shot out at me from the right side. The heat and smoke were intense inside the kitchen, and I knew if we didn't get the fire knocked down soon, that ceiling over our heads might come crashing down.
Turning to the right, Luke moving in perfect rhythm with me, I turned to spray of water onto the flames that slithered up the walls and crawled across the ceiling. Watching the flames sway and undulate, it was easy to believe that the fire was a sentient, albeit evil, living creature. It lashed out at us as we hit it with the water, thick tendrils of flame snaking out, and shot toward us – falling short of us, thankfully. But still, seeing that sort of reaction from fire as we started to kill it – something I'd seen a thousand times before – made it easy to believe that the fire was a living, breathing creature that was defending itself against us.
“Opening it up,” I called out, not wanting to catch Luke off guard by the increase in pressure.
“Roger that,” Luke said.
I opened the valve a little more, releasing an even stronger stream. The fire hissed and growled as the water started to have an effect. It sounded like a wounded, dying animal in my ears, as the flames started to flicker out.
“We've got the upper hand,” Luke shouted.
The walls were dark, charred, and in a couple of places, the power of the hose had punched through the drywall. Water dripped from everything and pooled on the floor in an inch-deep flood that flowed over the toes our boots. We waded in even further, the color of the smoke starting to lighten, and the flames started to lose their intensity.
We hit the fire hard, giving it everything we had, and eventually, it flickered out entirely. The roaring stopped, the flames were out, and the only thing to be heard was the sound of water loudly dripping off of – well – everything.
I closed down the valve, cutting off the water entirely. It was over. I cast a look back at Luck and nodded – we'd slayed the beast. For now. Eventually, it would rear its ugly head again.
But for now, we could celebrate in the fact that this was over. We'd won another round, and it felt great.
* * *
“Well done, everybody,’ I said, leaning against the truck.
Sweat poured down my face, starting on my forehead and rolling down my cheeks. I wiped it away with a rag, trying to cool down a bit. It had been so hot and intense inside that house, my fire gear felt like it had melted to my skin. It had been a hot one.
Despite the fire being mostly confined to the kitchen, the building was more or less destroyed. The structural integrity of the house was no longer sound. It was going to be a total loss for the owners. The inspectors were already roping it off and fixing to red tag it.
Whoever owned the home was going to be in for a nasty surprise, and I prayed they had home owner's insurance. Considering the fact that it was a vacation rental, I assumed they did – people with the kind of money that allowed them to have a vacation home usually tried to protect those investments with insurance.
But, knowing they'd be able to rebuild it, didn't make it any easier for me to see such a nice
home completely gutted and destroyed. One of the hardest parts of my job was seeing the destruction of people's homes. I hated that everything inside of those homes that meant something to them was lost. Gone forever.
At least no one was there this time. Being so close to Christmas,things could have been very bad for the family. They might have lost everything - their kid's Christmas's ruined, their home destroyed, and potentially even lost their lives. As much as I hated to see the house destroyed, I was thankful it all happened before Christmas Eve, when the place was to be occupied again.
Wes was following protocol and was surveying the property with Sarah, making sure there were no longer any smaller fires, hotspots, or anything we might have missed. He was staying outside of the building as much as possible, for safety's sake. Owen stood beside me, his blonde hair clinging to his face, wearing a pinched expression. Luke handed him a bottle of water.
“It's not cold, but it'll do,” Luke said.
Owen powered most of it down without a word, before handing it over to me.
Wes stopped outside the garage, and I watched as him and Sarah discussed something, but couldn't make out the words. There was a look of worry etched across his face, and then that same expression crossed Sarah's. I handed the water bottle back to Owen and pushed myself away from the truck.
“What is it?” Luke said.
“I don't know,” I said. “I think Wes sees something. Be ready.”
Owen asked, “Be ready for what?”
I didn't stick around to answer him, letting Luke handle that. I walked toward Wes and Sarah, fearing the worst, but I didn't make it in time. Wes pushed past the police tape and bolted into the house.
“Wes!” I called out to him, quickening my pace.
Sarah turned and looked at me, then turned back to Wes. She, too, pushed past the police tape and entered the house. Neither one told me what was going on, or why they were re-entering the condemned building and putting their very lives at risk. I had no idea what they'd seen – or thought they'd seen – that had caused them to do what they did.
The garage had mostly been untouched by the fire itself, but the upper floors were definitely unstable. I hurried up onto the porch, calling for both Sarah and Wes to answer me.
“Get your asses out of the house,” I demanded. “That thing may come down on your heads. Get out here, now!”
Owen and Luke were standing behind me, their gear in hand, ready to go just in case. We reached the police tape just as Wes reappeared, stepping onto the porch with a blanket in his arms, a strange, inscrutable look on his face.
“Is that –” Owen muttered beside me. “That's not a baby, is it? Please tell me that's not a kid.”
“Can't be,” Luke said. “No one was in there. The place was empty.”
Wes came down across the porch, down the stairs, and stepped toward us. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it wasn't a baby in his arms, but three tiny kittens. Sarah came out behind Wes, carrying a large gray cat that looked absolutely freaked out. Sarah was grinning from ear-to-ear as she rushed toward me.
“You were told not to go inside for any reason,” I scolded her.
“But Austin,” Wes said, holding out the blanket and letting me see three tiny, newborn kittens in his arms. “We don't leave any living thing behind, right?”
I opened my mouth to argue with him, but then closed it again. Going back inside the house had been dangerous and against the rules. I should have dressed them both down for it, told them to never disobey me again. I should have read them the riot act, the same way I'd given it to Owen earlier. But Wes handed me one of the tiny gray kittens, placing it into the palm of my hand and grinned like a child on Christmas.
“Can we keep them, boss? Pretty please?” Wes was teasing, but only slightly.
“You can keep them,” I said, holding the gray ball of fur. The kitten's eyes weren't even opened yet, and it was so tiny and fragile. Hard to yell at Wes and Sarah when something so fragile as that was at stake. I couldn't help it, I smiled and rubbed the kitten's little head
“I wish I could, but my landlord doesn't allow pets,” he said, and then looked over at Sarah hopefully.
“Sorry, I love them, but my roommate's allergic,” she said, holding mama cat very close. The cat's purrs could be heard from several feet away
Wes looked back at me and shrugged. “Don't you think the firehouse needs a cat? Or four? Every house has a pet. It's a good luck charm”
The kitten mewed and latched its tiny mouth onto one of my fingers, sucking gently.
“They'd probably have been fine on their own, you know,” I said, though I felt my resolve weakening.
“Yeah, probably. I guess so,” Wes said, scratching the mama cat's chin. She rubbed against his hand affectionately, a loud purr coming from its throat.
“They probably have a home,” I said. “She seems too well taken care of to be a stray.”
“Maybe. We can try to track the owner's down, but in the meantime how about we take care of them?” Wes begged. “I mean, they just lost their home in a fire, boss, and it's Christmas.”
I sighed. Luke sighed beside me. Owen just stared blankly at the kittens and the cat, keeping his thoughts to himself. Just earlier in the day, I ripped him a new asshole for disobeying my orders, and there I was rewarding Wes's bad behavior by considering letting a cat and her kittens move into our firehouse? I knew that had to be going through his mind.
One look over at Sarah, however, and the deal was done. The gray cat had her head buried in Sarah's neck, and the smile on her face cinched the cat's fate. Seeing her so happy and smiling like that broke something loose inside of me. How could I say no? “Fine,” I said. “But only until we find the owner. And your ass is on litter box detail.”
“If no one claims her?” Wes asked, hope heavy in his voice.
“The kittens get adopted out,” I said.
“But what about the mama?” he asked.
I sighed heavily again, rubbing my temples as I turned back toward the fire truck.
“We'll see, Wes. We'll see,” I said “Come on, let the other crews get in here. It's time to go home.”
I swear I heard him and Sarah cheering behind my back. Luke may have even joined them. Hell, I wouldn't have been surprised if Owen joined in too. None of us outright hated animals. In fact, I had a soft spot for them – but I wasn't about to tell any of them that. But to have a cat around the firehouse – especially one that seemed as sweet as that one – might be kind of nice. I think we were one of the only houses in the area that didn't have a mascot, so at least I could check that box off my list.
“So who's up for a few drinks after work?” Wes said, speaking to no one in particular.
Owen sped up, walking beside me, and cast a quick, furtive glance at the others, before he muttered, “Aren't they going to get in trouble for not obeying your orders too?”
“Owen, please, this is different,” I said. “You can't compare the two situations.”
“Is it? Or is it because it's them and not me?” he said.
He walked even faster, stomping off away from me, and I didn't bother to catch up to him to try and explain the situation. There was no point to it anyway. Let him pout for all I cared. He had a lot to learn still. Sometimes he forgot that. Sometimes, he thought he knew everything, and already had the world by the balls. That kind of attitude made him dangerous; a liability in the field. I'd have to keep a close eye on him, I realized. Though, I usually kept an eye on all new fire fighters. I did my best to teach and guide them and help them get acclimated to the realities of the job. It was surprising how many of them thought what they saw on TV was real.
Owen was different, however. He was more entitled and thought he knew more than he did. Those were the ones who got people hurt or killed – and there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen in my house, on my watch.
As far as I was concerned, he had one more chance and that was it. One more chanc
e to prove himself worthy of being a firefighter in my house. Honestly, I hated the idea of ripping the guy's dreams away from him, but if he couldn't learn to obey orders, think of the team before himself, and watch out for the safety of others, he'd be a hazard on the job. I couldn't have that. No house could afford a guy like that.
If he didn't shape up – and soon – his dream of being firefighter was going to be done before his probationary period was even over.
“What do you say, Austin?” Wes asked, putting his arm over my shoulder. “You in?”
“For drinks?” I asked.
“Yeah, after our shift is over,” he said.
“Don't you have kittens to take care of?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “They are your responsibility now, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving off my concerns. “But once I get Mama set up with some food, water and litter, they should be able to take care of themselves.”
“You know, they probably could have taken care of themselves out here too,” I countered.
“Sure, but where's the fun in that?” Wes said, smirking. “So you in?”
“Yeah, I'm in.”
“Luke, buddy, what about you?”
“Of course,” he said. “Not like I've got anything better to do.”
“Awesome!” Wes said.
Wes looked toward Owen, and his smile fell. Owen was standing by the truck, a look of pure hatred on his face. Some people might take the hint and avoid trouble, but not Wes. It wasn’t not that he couldn't take the hint, he just didn't care. He walked right up to Owen, put a hand on his shoulder, and gave him that smile he thought was so damn charming.
“You coming out with us, man?” he asked.
Luke and I shared a look, waiting to see if he'd accept Wes's offer. Owen scowled and muttered something, but we couldn't make out what it was.