Jesse says, “I love kite surfing. To me, it represents a state of freedom of being lifted over the waves—on a path—rather than being tossed by them uncontrollably.”
Maggie says, “Yes, I like that. We must be miles from our vehicles. This was so fun.”
“You’re not too tired to jog back, are you?”
“Ready when you are.”
“Good, let’s pack this gear up and do a beach run.”
Jesse and Maggie pack the kite surfing gear in their backpacks and run back to their cars.
Later that night, at the news station, news editor Mike Shloader watches a fire on his station’s telecast and sees Jesse run off a burning building roof and repel into a window.
Editor Schloader says, “Whoa. That was amazing. Who the hell is this guy?”
Reporter Doss replies, “That is Jesse Cole. He does risky stunts like that all the time. I have asked him three times for an interview, and he just stonewalls me.”
Editor Schloader says, “Are you serious? Interesting. Keep trying, and I want more video of him doing anything like that. Anytime Fire Station 7 is on the scene, I want a camera there. TV viewers love a daredevil with no fear. It is an instant boost to our ratings.”
Reporter Doss says, “Sure thing, boss.”
Commander Cole in ARTT gear.
ARTT chopper drawing water and dispersing it during rescue.
ARTT uniform and equipment.
Jesse Cole’s fire and rescue vehicle.
7.
The next day, Captain McMenn has come to the end of his rope with Jesse. Captain McMenn walks to Fire Chief Bodett’s office and enters. Standing in front of Chief Bodett’s desk, Captain McMenn puts a document on it to be signed.
Captain McMenn says, “I want to fire Jesse Cole.”
Chief Bodett replies, “On what grounds, Captain?”
Captain McMenn replies, “I don’t care what that psychologist said. Jesse is reckless. He thinks he can save anyone, no matter what the danger. He won’t abide by my policies or adhere to procedures. He does everything his way. The media loves his circus act, and it reflects poorly on my command. Everything about him is backward.”
Chief Bodett says, “Jesse is old-school, a crazy brave firefighter. So he is different. Not being afraid to die doesn’t make him crazy. Theoretically, it makes him a better firefighter. You can’t just turn that off because a mayor wants to play fire chief and tells us how to do our job. I won’t sign off on Jesse’s termination.”
“This department has lost too many firefighters. You were there at the meeting with the mayor when he established the new firefighting policy. It’s a policy that will keep our firefighters alive.”
“Yes, I was there, and if you remember, I agreed with the mayor’s policy under protest. I won’t fire Jesse, and if you are thinking of going above my head, don’t bother. The mayor won’t fire Jesse either because the mayor has already said he is determined to use Jesse’s popularity to help his chances of reelection.”
“Fine.” Captain McMenn returns to his office and calls Jesse in.
Jesse enters Captain McMenn’s office. He says, “You called for me, Captain?”
Captain McMenn replies, “I believe you choose to fight fires the way you do in the worst city for deaths by fires because you have a death wish. Maybe it’s PTSD or maybe you feel you should have died with your NYPD brothers on 9/11. You want to end up on our wall of fallen firefighters, don’t you? Well, I’m not going to let you do it. The fire chief won’t let me fire you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t restrict your duties. I’m taking your gear and restricting you to driving the fire engine only.”
“I understand, Captain.”
“Good. Now get the hell out of my office, and send in Lieutenant Kendrick.”
Jesse walks out of the office and sees Lieutenant Kendrick working out.
Jesse says to Lieutenant Kendrick, “Hey, Lieutenant, Captain wants to see you.”
Lieutenant Kendrick enters the office and closes the door. He says, “What’s up, Captain?”
Captain McMenn says, “I am restricting Jesse to driving the fire engine only. I tried to fire him, but the chief wouldn’t go for it. For my peace of mind, get Chow to collect Jesse’s gear. Even Jesse isn’t crazy enough to go into a five-hundred-degree blazing structure without his gear on. I want you to let the rest of the department know Jesse can only drive the fire engine. That is until I can find a way to get rid of him. Also, tell them that if Jesse gets out of that fire engine and gets anywhere near a fire, you and every firefighter on scene better take him down, or I will put the whole shift on extra duty. Is that clear?”
Lieutenant Kendrick replies, “No, it is not clear, Captain. Jesse is a bit unpredictable, but he has major league firefighting skills on a bush league squad. If you restrict Jesse, you are cutting off the right hand of this department!”
Captain gets toe-to-toe with Lieutenant Kendrick and looks him over.
With calm resolve, Captain McMenn says, “Stand down, Lieutenant. This is my station. My firefighters will do what I say when I say it. Jesse refuses to change his ways and adhere to our policies. That makes him a liability to the city. Here is the memo to pass on to the squad. That will be all.”
Lieutenant Kendrick takes the memo and slams Captain McMenn’s door on the way out.
Lieutenant Kendrick finds Jesse cleaning his gear. He says, “Hey, Jesse.”
Jesse replies, “What’s up, Lieutenant?”
“Captain McMenn is trying to micromanage me. Captain is a control freak. He feels you are rubbing off on the other firefighters and that he is losing control of the squad. As you know, he is restricting you to only driving the fire engine. I did what I could for you, but my hands are tied on this one.”
Jesse puts his head down. “I understand.”
“I hope it’s just temporary.” Lieutenant Kendrick hands the memo to Jesse and walks away.
The squad has heard the rumor, and everyone is in Fire Station 7 locker room except Lieutenant Kendrick and Jesse. Captain McMenn walks in the locker room. All the firefighters get silent and have a disgusted look at Captain McMenn.
Captain McMenn says, “I suppose you all have heard.” He shakes his head. “You call yourselves firefighters? This squad has become a circus act in the media. In case you have not heard, I’ve restricted your ring leader, Mr. Cole, to driving the fire engine. I would have fired him if Chief Bodett would let me. You will fight fires my way! I’m trying to keep all of you alive. If you cross me or my command, I will win every time. I have no patience for firefighters I can’t control. If you want to stay alive in the line of duty and continue to work here, you will follow my orders to the T. If not, then find another job! Clean this damn place up.”
He slams the locker room door open. Five minutes later, Jesse enters the locker room.
Stewart sees Jesse and says, “Cowboy.”
The locker room gathers around Jesse.
Chuck Jones says, “Captain is just on a power trip, Jesse.”
Jesse says, “It’s going to be all right, guys. Don’t worry about it.”
Chow replies, “It’s going to be all right, you say? Jesse, you made this squad better than it was. You made us better than we were as individuals. None of us have your skills, instincts, or leadership.”
Jesse says, “You are wrong. You all have the ability. All I did was believe in all of you. I put my life in each of your hands at one time or another. It brought us together, made us more focused as a unit, and made up for our individual shortcomings. Now that I’m on the bench, trust each other with your lives. It raises the level o
f the squad. Each of you, set the standard, and play off each other’s efforts. Fearless valor is contagious when it’s seen by others. If all of you do that, this squad will be just as effective as ever. I will be rooting all you on from the fire engine.” Jesse smiles and walks out of the locker room.
Maggie says, “I hope this is just temporary. Jesse is a bit of an aggressive driver, and I don’t like being thrown around in the fire engine.”
Stewart replies, “That might be the case, but at least with Jesse driving, Chow won’t be, and we won’t have to listen to Chow’s constant road rage.”
The squad, including Chow, laughs.
The next day, Jesse is looking at the burned locket when the bell rings. He and the crew burst into action.
The news crew monitored the radio and found out Fire Station 7 has been dispatched. The network immediately sends out its action news van and chopper to the scene.
Jesse is the driver, and they arrive at the fire quickly. Jesse watches the squad jump out of the truck with an envious look, as he is ordered to stay in the truck. It’s a gas leak fire in a twelve-story apartment building. The crew rescues most of the occupants of the burning structure, and Maggie hears a firefighter call for help on the radio.
Chuck Jones says over the radio, “I got hit by some falling debris. I can’t move, and I’m almost out of oxygen.”
Maggie recognizes the voice. She then has a flashback in her mind to the time she hit that same firefighter, Chuck Jones, for trying to touch her in a sexual manner while they were alone in Fire Station 7 shower room.
Maggie returns from the memory and goes in the burning building after Chuck. She finds Chuck on the ground floor with a piece of smoldering debris over his leg with some smoke inhalation. She tries to lift the debris off, but it is too heavy. She improvises and adapts by throwing some repel rope over a banister and tying it off to the debris. She pulls down and uses her weight to leverage the debris up just enough to kick it aside. She then sees a liquor flask fall off Chuck’s gear. Maggie drags his barely conscious body outside for the paramedics to save.
Almost all occupants are accounted for, and then the fire gets out of control with another explosion. Captain makes the call to withdraw all firefighters. Jesse notices the building is a blaze, but once again, Captain McMenn withdrew too soon. Jesse is sitting in the truck looking around and sees a large crowd mounting around the scene.
“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC comes on the radio. Jesse turns it up, and just then he looks up, he sees a little girl standing on a window ledge choking from the smoke. He grips the steering wheel and squeezes it. He has no gear. Jesse looks around and sees blankets for victims and a spewing fire hydrant. He grabs a small backpack he secretly stored on the truck. He gets out of the truck and runs to grab a blanket and wets it at the fire hydrant. Then he runs for the front entrance to the burning structure.
Captain McMenn yells, “Stop, Jesse!”
The other firefighters are alerted to Jesse. All the firefighters converge on Jesse trying to tackle him, but no one can get a hand on him. Lieutenant Kendrick is by the entrance and sees Jesse coming. Lieutenant Kendrick, having a grin on his face, digs in for a huge hit. With a heart full of adrenaline and carrying the pack and wet blanket like a football, Jesse lowers his head. Jesse collides with Lieutenant Kendrick, and Jesse runs Lieutenant Kendrick over. As Jesse runs into the entrance, he holds his breath, puts on the pack, and covers himself with the wet blanket. As Lieutenant Kendrick gathers himself, he looks back at Jesse.
Lieutenant Kendrick says, “Go get ’em, Jesse!”
Captain McMenn throws down his firefighter helmet. Then Lieutenant Kendrick points the fire hose where he estimates Jesse to be, as Jesse runs up the stairs. Inside the building, smoke and fire are everywhere. As Jesse runs up the stairs, fire partially covers it. He runs through it. His blanket is starting to smoke. Some water from Lieutenant Kendrick’s hose hits the area of the stairs that Jesse is climbing and helps. As Jesse reaches the fifth floor, his blanket is partially on fire. He discards his burning blanket and opens the door to the little girl’s room. Knowing opening the door will feed oxygen to the fire, Jesse, being weary of a back draft, immediately runs toward the little girl by the open window. Jesse gets low and grabs the girl with his right arm and jumps out the window. Flames chase them through the window. He immediately pulls the rip cord as he went through the window. Jesse’s modified quick enveloping parachute barely catches wind and fully envelopes just seconds before they hit the ground. With the parachute partially on fire, from the window back draft, they quickly close on the ground at an angle. Their momentum carries them into the door of a parked car across the street. Jesse turns his back to the car just before impact to protect the little girl. With a thud, Jesse’s back slams into the car, and he slumps down against the dented car door. Other than bumps and bruises, Jesse and the little girl are okay. Captain McMenn is furious. All the fireman and huge crowd applaud and rejoice around Jesse. Lieutenant Kendrick and Stewart lift Jesse up on their shoulders. News reporter, Ted Doss, runs over to Captain McMenn.
Reporter Doss says, “This is news reporter Ted Doss. What do you think about your daring firefighter?”
Captain smiles to hide his anger. He says, “Give me this!” He grabs the reporter’s microphone and throws it. “Stay out of my face!”
8.
Later at Fire Station 7, Chuck approached Maggie by the lockers.
Chuck says, “I would like to thank you for saving me and apologize for what happened before in the shower room. It was inappropriate. I have no clue where you got the strength to lift the heavy debris off my leg. You got my respect. As you might know, I have a drinking problem. I’m prideful, and after a few drinks, I say and do things I don’t mean. I am seeking treatment for it now. You are a good firefighter dragon slayer. I hope you can me forgive me.”
Maggie replies, “No problem, Chuck. We all have our issues.”
The next day, fire department investigator Fred O’Neil walks in Captain McMenn’s office.
Fire investigator O’ Neil says, “I have found some evidence that links a former convict,
Frankie Pipps, to some of the fires in the city. The police arrested him for public intoxication and found this check in his wallet.” Investigator O’Neil puts the check on Captain McMenn’s desk from Mayor Bowls made out to Frankie Pipps.
Captain McMenn picks up the check.
Fire investigator O’ Neil asks, “Why would Frankie Pipps, a known felon, have a check written to him from the mayor?”
Captain McMenn replies, “The mayor tried to annex some areas of the city’s older suburbs earlier this year to make room for a stadium. Politicians on the other side blocked it. Politicians on the other side have always said they thought the mayor was crooked but could not find a smoking gun. I believe you might have just found it. Mayor Bowls must have been conspiring with the likes of Frankie Pipps to destroy property. Take what you got to the district, Attorney. I’m going to pay Mayor Bowls a visit.”
Investigator O’Neil leaves Captain McMenn’s office for the DA.
Feeling angry and betrayed, Captain McMenn goes straight to Mayor Bowls’s office and walks through his door. He says, “What the hell are you doing, Mayor?”
Mayor Bowls replies, “I’m enjoying this cigar. What is the problem now? Do you need more money?”
“Frankie Pipps is connected to the arsons and was arrested with a check written to him with your name on it. What have you done!”
“I have done nothing but my job. That check proves nothing. It’s a forgery.”
“You tried to acquire areas of the city suburbs to make room for a stadium earlier this year. County Board blocked your efforts, so you thought you would just dest
roy that property and take the real estate!”
“Take it easy, Captain McMenn. You are jumping to conclusions. I like your nerve though. You will make a good fire chief after I get rid of that dinosaur of a fire chief we have now.”
Captain McMenn says, “You think you can bribe me with a promotion? You put all my men and women’s lives in danger.”
Mayor Bowls says, “You want to progress in your career as much as I do. So get down off your soapbox, and do what it takes to succeed. I told you to pull back your men and use more conservative tactics.”
“You are crazy.”
“Do you think anybody gives a damn about some old structures and some drug infested apartment buildings! A city must cut away what holds it back from progression.”
“I trusted and looked up to you. You are going down.”
Mayor Bowls looks disappointed and says, “I guess you don’t want that promotion?”
Captain McMenn leaves Mayor Bowls’s office without a response, and as he walks outside, he sees the flashing lights of many police cars out front. Three policemen walk by him to arrest Mayor Bowls.
The next day, Captain McMenn and Jesse are in a meeting with Fire Chief Bodett.
Fire Chief Bodett says, “I called this meeting to discuss a letter I received from the governor. Did you write a proposal to the governor for an elite rescue unit?”
Jesse replies, “Yes, I did, Chief.”
Chief Bodett says, “Well, the governor was obviously inspired watching your rescues on the news and wrote you back.” He hands Jesse the governor’s letter. “Apparently, the governor likes the idea and wants you to help create and develop this elite unit by implementing your military skills and tactics. The governor is giving you the rank of commander. Are you up to this task, Jesse?”
The State Of The ARTT Page 6