Chapter 38
Today she serves the city of Barcelona in the fullest capacity of a frontline firefighter.
A job that entails more than putting out fires.
It also includes assisting at accidents, cleaning up chemical spills and, you guessed it, rescuing cats from trees.
She is a hero in the truest sense of the word—even if she would never accept that title—but Elena Gonzales is so much more than that.
During the preparation of this article, journalist Maya Carter got involved with her subject, lieutenant Elena Gonzales.
At the time of writing, they are in a committed relationship.
For full transparency, Maya Carter acknowledges that her views are no longer objective.
This article strongly reflects her personal views on lieutenant Gonzales and will include details of how their relationship came into existence.
“She’s a natural, really. Always calm and collected.
She doesn’t even have to bark orders. One look from her and you move.
You just know what she needs you to do,” Eduardo Rivera says.
As the newest member of his crew, he felt it was especially important that he could connect with his new lieutenant.
“They no longer call you a rookie, but that’s when the real learning starts, you know?
It is important to have a leader who sees where you need help.
Who doesn’t shame you for your lack of knowledge and experience, but actively tries to lift you to a higher level.
Gonzales does all of that, and she knows it will only work if you are accepted into the family.
I don’t envy her. It must be incredibly scary to put so much faith in somebody you barely know. ”
Pedro Díaz agrees with his crew member. “Gonzales always makes sure we are doing okay. Asking about our families, about our lives, and she actually cares. She even expects us to do the same, not just with her but with each other. It creates a safety bubble, and that carries over in the work we do. We are tight because we care. We care because we are tight.”
Although only 25 percent of the calls involve some sort of risk and only 5 percent are high-risk, the lieutenant insists that her crew is always prepared. When they are not out on calls, the team prepares their equipment, maintains the vehicle, or runs one of the many drills Gonzales has prepared.
“She pushes us harder than any other lieutenant. People used to call her out for it. When a man takes charge, he’s called driven and determined, right?
When a woman does it, she is called an ice-cold bitch.
But the truth is everyone sleeps easier when she is on shift.
Now, all the other crews try to live up to her standard. ”
Gonzales admits that it hasn’t always been easy on her.
When she had just been named lieutenant, it felt like she wasn’t taken seriously.
“I wanted to be liked and do the job to the best of my abilities. Those two don’t always go together.
They still don’t. Instead of listening to my instincts, I made poor decisions to be accepted. ”
One of those decisions was made during the rescue mission of 2016, when she led her team deep into a forest area and they got surrounded by the fire.
The crew was taken by surprise, resulting in the loss of one member.
Something she can never forgive herself for, even though Gonzales’s quick thinking saved the lives of the other crew members.
“We should never have been there. I should have never put them in that position. I wanted to prove myself. It was the worst call in my career.”
The call that cost the life of CRM Cruz resulted in her witnessing the directional change of the fire.
While extracting her crew and getting them the care they needed, she also managed to send out the command to keep the villages in a direct path of the fire safe.
But she couldn’t get over the incident. Not even after her crew requested that she receive a decoration for her bravery.
“Elena came here about six years ago. She was at rock bottom. She was crueler to herself than any of us could have ever been. But luckily the change of scenery was good for her. She fought it at first, of course, but after a few weeks I could see her calm down. That’s when I realized how full of potential she is. ”
Chief Fernando Salisar took Gonzales under his wing from that moment on.
She overcame her trauma under his watchful eye, and learned to turn her passion into skilled leadership.
“I’ve never seen anyone as brave as her,” the Chief says, visibly touched by the memory.
“Everyone talks about how brave firefighters are for running into burning buildings—like that is the action that takes all the courage—but the real bravery lives in the moments after. The moments where you wash away the ash and soot, where you close your eyes and see the faces of the people you couldn’t save.
The moments where your mask falls, and you still come back the next day. Nobody has shown up the way Elena has.”
The true extent of this bravery became visible to me during a frightening call to extract a kid that got stuck in a flooding storm drain.
Gonzales did not hesitate but jumped in, headfirst. Her quick wits and fast actions saved another life that day, even if she put her own on the line.
“It isn’t something I think about. That’s just who I am.
If you start to overthink, you become a liability.
And if you question it, you are in the wrong line of work. ”
Gonzales might sound pragmatic, but she breathes and lives this belief.
She has spent her whole life running toward the danger, being brave for those who can’t.
Being a shield to those who need it. Looking back, I know it was inevitable that someone would fall for her.
How could they not? I just had not expected it to be me.
And at that point I still tried to deny it.
The tipping point came after the Metro Incident, earlier this year.
Two trains collided at the Placa Espanya station, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries.
Engine 2 was one of the first crews at the scene and Gonzales immediately took action.
Her people went in twice as many times as the other crews, pulling out three times the number of people.
Even though they were on the brink of exhaustion, none of them gave up.
“I just think we all wanted to make her proud. She has that effect on us. Gonzales pushes you so hard, but when we pull things off nobody else can, she is beaming like the sun. I think we all live for those moments.” Rosa Fernandes, the only other woman at the station, expresses.
“We don’t care if we are tired or thirsty.
There are people out there who need us. Every second counts.
It used to be Gonzales’ motto, but it’s our crew’s now. I believe it makes us better.”
During the five-hour-long extraction mission, an explosion occurred that took the lives of three people and injured two others, including Gonzales.
She sustained a mild laceration on her hip, and some minor bruising.
She was sent home for two days to recover and put on administrative duties for the remainder of the week.
It was after this incident that I was no longer able to keep my professional distance.
I had seen Elena run into burning buildings, put herself in front of danger, and face the most horrible outcomes before – her expression never changed.
It was only then, when she was sent home, that I saw the terror in her eyes and the tremble of her fingers.
She had witnessed the loss of one of the victims and couldn’t stop blaming herself.
Even though she had no influence on the situation at all.
I believed I understood the cost that came with her job.
I was wrong. When she shattered in my arms that night, I saw the real extent of what she carries—the responsibilities that she takes on.
That is who Elena Gonzales is. A woman who works herself to the bone to keep all of us safe.
Who would give up her last breath if it meant you could have one more.
Not to be called a hero, she detests the term, but to answer the calling deep inside her core.
She is selfless, brave, smart, and unapologetic.
She has earned the trust of her crew, her co-workers, and her Chief, whom she collectively calls her family.
Every single one of them is willing to walk into a fire when she is next to them, without having a moment of fear for their own lives.
After all, they know Elena has their backs.
Lieutenant Elena Gonzales continues to serve the city of Barcelona, aiming to make it a safer place every single day. And I will continue to love her. Elena not only saved dozens of lives during the time that I shadowed her, but she also saved my soul. Something I am eternally grateful for.
[Cont. on page 24]