21. Nolan
Chapter 21
Nolan
OCTOBER
T hick smoke, like a heavy, gray blanket, obscures everything, making it necessary to feel my way along, using the wall to guide me. Search and rescue is my responsibility; the ladder truck is fighting the fire. With the third floor cleared, I’m moving onto the fourth.
A slight wall indentation suggesting a door prompts me to check it with a quick tap. The coolness of the door lets me know it’s safe to open.
When I enter the apartment, I read the number on the door before checking for potential problems. “Fire department. Anyone inside? Call out.”
No one responds.
Clearing each unit is an essential part of my job. No detail is overlooked. Calling out through my mask, I search each room. This unit appears unoccupied.
There’s one more room at the end of the hall. When I get there, I breathe in, the sound echoing in my ears. The crib in the corner catches my eye the moment I push the door open, filling me with a heavy sense of foreboding.
“Fuck.”
My radio cackles alive. “Fuck what?”
“Crib. Checking it now.” The beam of my flashlight cuts through the darkness, revealing what I feared, and a cold dread fills my heart. “Coming down with an infant. Not sure about the status. Looks to be sleeping. The initial search revealed no one else inside. Apartment 4B.”
Sheri’s the first to chime in. “I’m on it.”
Reaching inside, I scoop the baby into my arms and cradle it against my chest. We don’t carry extra masks with us, and even if we did, we don’t have one small enough for this little one. The best I can do is get us both out and to the paramedics ASAP.
A wave of thick smoke envelopes me as I round the corner into the main living area. I pick up my speed, knowing time is of the essence.
Apartment fires are the worst. There are so many areas that need to be cleared. And in the middle of the night, when everyone is sleeping, and it’s dark, it only adds to the chaos.
As I step into the hall, I nearly run over a frantic woman, hacking up a lung. “Help, please. My husband.”
“What apartment?”
“Please. 4C. Please.” Choking on the smoke, she does her best to drag me down the hall. “Please. I’m not strong enough to help him.”
“Ma’am, I need you to calm down. I have an infant I need to get?—”
“I’ll take the baby. You save him.” In a frantic attempt, she struggles to pry the child from my embrace.
We have a rule. Focus on rescuing the ones you can save first, then go back and check for more if you have time.
“I won’t leave him behind. Once I’ve escorted you and the child out safely, I’ll come back for him.” I deliberately distance myself and walk down the hall to the nearest staircase. “Follow me. I’ll come back. I promise.”
Just as I’m about to walk away, Sheri comes up the stairs, her light shining through the smoke. “Need help?”
“Take the baby.” Once I hand the child over to her, I shift my attention to the woman standing right behind me and point at Sheri. “Follow her. 4C, right? Where at?”
She coughs, the sound harsh and raspy. “Back of the apartment. He’s sick, can’t walk.”
The flickering fluorescent lights above me catch my eye as I walk down the hall. “Heading to 4C. Woman says her husband is inside and unable to get out.”
“Sending Bentley to help,” the captain’s voice breaks in. “Looks like we have a handle on the fire for now. But make it quick.”
Bentley meets me in the hall just outside the apartment. With smoke rapidly filling the spacious apartment, rescuing the man is of critical importance.
“Fire department. Call out.”
We step inside. Several seconds tick by, thick with anticipation, as we search for the guy we returned to find.
We finally find him. He’s on the floor of his bedroom, lying on his side, struggling to breathe. The man is built like a professional lineman. It’s a good thing I’m not alone. With Bentley’s help, we get him on his feet and comfortable enough for one of us to carry him out.
“I need to do a second check of 4B. You got him?”
Bentley hoists the man over his shoulder and nods, prompting me to motion for him to go first. As we re-enter the hall, the smoke turns an eerie brownish color, making me uneasy.
“Everyone out, now!” the captain orders over the radio.
A shift in smoke color is a signal suggesting a building collapse—a serious issue requiring immediate attention. While risks exist in this job, when your captain orders you to get out, you get the fuck out.
As we retreat down the hallway, fleeing the brown smoke, something behind me catches my attention. My head snaps around, eyes narrowing in surprise at the sight of a silhouette hurrying into the apartment where I found the baby.
“Fuck.” With a deep breath, I prepare myself for the task ahead. “Captain. We have another one. I’m getting her now. 4B.”
“There’s no time!” His clipped tone brooks no argument.
“I’ll make it quick.” Already heading that way, I pray the building cooperates long enough to grab her and get out.
“I said evacuate!”
A loud pop shatters the silence as a hallway beam buckles, creating a brief moment of panic.
I’m about to step into the apartment when the woman crashes into me.
“My baby!”
“We took your baby outside.” With ease, I hoist her over my shoulder and make a mad dash for the stairs. “We gotta go. Now!”
She offers no resistance, the suspense thick in the air as we race to the stairs, only seconds before the ceiling behind us crashes down with a deafening rumble. Urgency spurs me onward; the intense heat closes in behind us, a reminder of how quickly I need to get us out of here.
As fast and as safely as I can, I run down the stairs. The smoke makes it difficult to see, forcing me to use instinct not to trip. When I see light seeping in under the door, I pick up the pace, heat growing rapidly behind me.
A whooshing sound, like escaping air, fills my ears as we reach the exit. I burst through the door, sprinting away as the anticipated blast threatens to overtake us. Trusting my instincts, I shift the woman off my shoulder and securely hold her to my chest, ensuring her protection as I throw both of us to the ground.
A flash of flames licks against my back. The heat intense, barely muted by my protective gear, as I use my body to protect the slender woman under me. It’s gone just as quickly as it arrives, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
A deafening boom reverberates through the air, causing the ground to tremble beneath us.
In a matter of seconds, I’m lifted off the woman by my crew. Supported on both sides, they drag me away to the safe zone, the inferno now behind us. Once we’re far enough away, I’m released.
Yanking off my helmet and mask, I toss them to the ground and suck in a lung full of fresh air. “What happened? Was anyone inside?”
Shari stands in front of me, her hands flying as she works on my coat. “Everyone got out. What the hell were you thinking?”
With my coat and suspenders off, I bend at the waist. “You would’ve done the same.”
Opening a bottle of cold water, she passes it to me. “Probably. Captain is pissed, though.”
Taking the bottle from her, I drop to the ground and guzzle it.
Fighting fires is no joke. Our gear is heavy and hot.
With a nod, I gesture for the second bottle, then glance down at my coat and gear spread on the dusty ground. The melted back of my helmet and the charcoal stains on my coat serve as a reminder of the extreme danger my job puts me in. I’ve seen worse, but this is a first for me.
Not willing to dwell on the terrifying possibilities, I shake my head, dismissing those thoughts. “How’s the baby?”
“By the time I got her out, she was screaming her little head off. Mild smoke inhalation. They rushed her to the children’s hospital just to be safe.” Shari unscrews the lid of bottle number three and hands it to me.
“That was her mother.” Tilting my head back, I let the cool water cascade over my heated skin. “Make sure they tell her.”
“I’m on it.” Turning, she heads to where the paramedics are treating the woman I rescued.
The air grows tense as my captain, James Till, approaches, his presence casting a dark shadow over me. “I should suspend you for disobeying a direct order.”
“But you won’t because you’d have done the same.” Tossing my empty water bottle, I push my tired body to stand. “She wouldn’t have made it out without me.”
As we both turn to see Shari standing next to the woman, he nods curtly, arms still folded across his chest. “Don’t let it happen again. When I tell you to get the fuck out, you get the fuck out. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now get checked out by the paramedics.” With a strong grip, he squeezes my shoulder tightly. “Once you’ve been cleared, you can help spray. This is going to be a total loss. So far, all the residents have been accounted for. Good job.”
Making my way over to where Bentley is getting checked, I find a spot on the back of the bus to sit. “That was too close.”
He grimaces as he rolls his left shoulder. “At least I didn’t have fire chasing my ass like you did. I think I tweaked my shoulder, though. I’m gonna need to up the weights on the bench.”
“You’re good to go,” Jen, the paramedic working on him, says before she turns to me. “Now it’s your turn.”
Bentley slaps my back before he stands and gets back to work.
“How’s your sister doing?” Jen asks as she shines a light in my eyes.
“Better. How’s your kid?”
She gives a nonchalant shrug before motioning for me to stand. With my eyes closed, I am instructed to reach out and touch my nose. I do it with no problem.
“How’s the head? That was a crazy stunt you did there.” With my shirt raised, she presses against my ribs, feeling for any abnormalities.
“All good.”
She hits the third one from the bottom on my left side and I try not to flinch when pain shoots through me.
Her fingers follow up one and she makes a face. “I think you might have cracked a rib or two.”
“I’m fine.”
To prove I’m not fine she presses a little harder and lifts one eyebrow.
The pain that shoots through my body makes me drawback. “Okay. I’m not fine, but I’ll be fine.”
She turns to her partner. “We need to give this one a ride to the ER.”
“No, you don’t.” I stand, my ribs scream at me, but I ignore them, determined to get back to work.
“He can go with us.” The crew next to them hollers as they load the blonde woman into the back. “He can ride up front with me if he wants.”
“I’m good.” Reaching up, I adjust my t-shirt. “I’ll get it checked out later.”
“Do I need to call Cora? Tell her you’re being a stubborn ass?” Crossing her arms, Jen discreetly looks over at the captain, who’s preoccupied with something else at the moment. “Or let Tills know that you’re refusing treatment?”
“Fine.” I narrow my eyes before making my way to the bus. “I’ll remember this.”
Flipping me the bird, Jen gets back to work.
Once I’m buckled up in the front passenger seat, we take off. This is stupid. Cracked ribs are part of the job and I would’ve been fine.
The coolness of the window soothes me as I lean my head against it and close my eyes, doing my best to not let my mind take me down a road I have no desire visiting.