Chapter 3
Keeneston, Kentucky . . .
Nolan saw the fire as they bounced along the dirt road in the tanker fire truck reserved for rural fires that Jack Calloway was driving.
Colton Davies, Nolan’s longtime friend and also his fire chief, was reviewing wind reports.
It was a false spring and people were crazy.
It was still February, but this weekend the temperature jumped into the low seventies.
It wouldn’t last. It would probably be snowing next week.
However, the warm weather after a couple of months of winter made everyone burst from their houses and, well, not think about their actions.
“We have a twenty-mile-an-hour wind and it’s spreading the fire fast. We need to rescue the campers, work on a fire break, and suppress the fire,” Colton told them as Nolan looked up at the tops of the trees in the woods outside of Keeneston.
The bonfire a group of campers started that morning for a day of partying had spread into an out-of-control fire throughout the grove they were camping in.
The tops of the trees were bending in the wind, which was fuel to the fire.
If they didn’t get the fire under control soon, it would take off and there would be no stopping it.
“You want us all with you or should I get to work on the fire break?” Conley Wilson asked with his Eastern Kentucky country accent. Conley was a grizzly bear of a man in terms of size, but a teddy bear on the inside.
“I want Nolan and Flint to head up the rescue of the campers in case any of them need medical attention,” Colton ordered.
Flint was the main EMT and Nolan was the backup, in addition to both of them being firefighters.
“I want Conley to start on the fire break. Jack and I will handle the hose to try to slow down the fire. Nolan, when you and Flint get the campers clear, I want you on the fire break spraying that new chitosan-driven formula that Forrest Townsend sent us. Flint can handle the second hose on the fire.”
Jack slowed the firetruck to a stop. Flint parked his ambulance slightly behind it, and then they were all in motion.
“Help! We’re here!”
Nolan looked over the flames to find six friends standing on top of a camper.
Fire had consumed the grass around them and was licking up the trees at the edge of the grove.
The problem being, the fire was spreading to the east and south, but the campers couldn’t escape since the grass was on fire in the entire grove and was now surrounding them.
“Get hose one primed!” Colton ordered Jack as Nolan exited the truck and ran to the ambulance.
Nolan grabbed a go kit and joined Flint who was already moving toward the fire with his portable medical kit in hand.
Nolan connected his respirator and stood next to Flint near the fire line.
Nolan and Flint were close to the same height—both around six feet two inches tall.
Flint was strong from the gym and from the job.
Nolan was strong from a lifetime of tossing hay bales and feed bags.
There was no question that both of them could carry any-sized person from the fire if need be.
Luckily, the campers all seemed mobile as they waved their arms from the top of the camper.
However, smoke would be a problem. They’d probably need to be checked out at the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation along with some minor burns.
“Let’s each grab a fire extinguisher,” Nolan said to Flint. “The grass is on fire, but it won’t take much to get it out.”
“Hose one is primed!” Jack yelled.
Nolan and Flint hurried to the truck and grabbed two fire extinguishers as Colton turned on the hose.
“Great day for chopping brush!” Conley called out as he carried a shovel in one hand and a chainsaw in the other. Nolan had to chuckle at Conley. It was hard for him not to be in a good mood. He loved his job and it showed.
“Making a path for you,” Colton called out as he and Jack aimed the hose at the part of the fire that was the weakest. Colton pulled the lever back as water from their tanker truck sprayed onto the fire and the grass beyond it.
Smoke and steam filled the air, but that didn’t bother Nolan and Flint with their respirators. The second the fire was drenched in that area, Nolan and Flint sprinted through it. Nolan led the way, spraying the fire extinguisher to form a break in the fire on the grass.
Colton and Jack moved the aim of the hose to work on spraying the wall of fire down. The fire was loud as it consumed the bark of the trees around them. The hissing and crackling of the fire were joined by the sound of Conley and his chainsaw and the screams of the campers.
Nolan continued to work his extinguisher until he reached the camper. They’d have Flint’s to get them back if they needed it. A chair was propped up against the side of the camper. It appeared someone had managed to jump up then pull the other people up after him.
Flint pulled off his respirator and looked up at the group. “I’m Flint Adler. Are any of you injured?”
Nolan heard several of them coughing but didn’t see any blood.
“My feet are burned,” one of the girls called out. She was the one sitting down.
“What kind of shoes do you have?” Flint asked them.
Nolan almost rolled his eyes when he saw that half of them had no shoes and the other half had only flip-flops. See, people just got crazy during false spring.
“I’ll carry while you stay with them,” Nolan told Flint, who nodded.
Flint stepped forward and instructed the woman with the burned feet to move to the edge.
Her friends helped lower her down so that Nolan could grab her.
As soon as Nolan had his hands around her, he hoisted her over his shoulder and ran.
It wasn’t comfortable, but it was the most secure and the fastest way to carry her.
As he approached the fire, he saw that Colton and Jack had made progress with some of the fire.
Nolan adjusted his path and ran through the section that was soaked and smoking, but no longer on fire.
“Thank you!” the woman cried as she gripped his hand after he set her on the edge of the ambulance.
“You’re welcome. We’ll be right back with everyone, then Flint will tend to your feet.”
Nolan was already racing back to the camper as Flint worked to get the next woman down.
As soon as Nolan reached them, Flint handed her off to him and back Nolan ran with her in a fireman’s carry.
It took close to fifteen minutes, but they finally were down the final two men. Nolan took one and Flint the other.
“Nolan!” Colton called out, “Let Flint handle them. Use the new spray on the far east side, working your way towards us.”
“On it!” Nolan lifted one of the storage compartments in the truck and pulled out the giant tank. It weighed a hundred fifty pounds as he strapped it on and then ran.
“Mwahahahaha!” Conley yelled as he used the chainsaw to cut through a giant honeysuckle bush as if he were in a horror movie. All the debris was tossed aside so that a swath of dirt prevented the fire from spreading.
Nolan found the end of the fire and set the big tank onto the ground.
He primed it and returned it to his back, turning the spray on and soaking the trees and brush in danger of catching fire.
He worked his way toward Conley, but ran out of the treatment before he reached the end.
He dropped the pack and raced back to the truck to retrieve the second and final pack.
Flint had an ambulance full of people. Since they had been checked out and not in need of immediate medical attention, Flint was operating the second hose to tackle the worst of the fire.
Conley had moved from the chainsaw to digging a dirt trench. Two of the men from the camper had joined and were helping dig. It would make it harder for the fire to jump.
Nolan had learned about the spray he was using made by Forrest Townsend from a firefighter magazine.
When he’d learned Forrest was from Shadows Landing, the same place as Colton’s cousins, he asked Colton to put him in contact with Forrest. Forrest had called him the next day.
His formula would fireproof brush and trees.
It was intended for California’s wildfire season, but when Nolan had told Forrest that their small fire department was also responsible for the forest and woods around Keeneston, Forrest Townsend had sent some packs for them to test out.
Today was the first time they’d used it.
They’d find out soon enough how well it worked.
By the time Nolan finished spraying, his back and arms ached.
However, he couldn’t stop. He picked up a shovel and joined the men digging the trench.
The fire was being held back by the brush cleanup, the water, and the trench.
Colton, Jack, and Flint joined them right after running out of water in their tanker truck.
They were moving hard and fast to create the dirt break.
A huge gust of wind blew up around them and Nolan cursed.
“It’s gonna spread!” Conley called out, pointing to the far end of the fire where Nolan had sprayed.
They watched in horror as the flames met the trees when the branches bent from the wind. Nolan held his breath and he was sure his team did the same. However, the trees didn’t catch and the fire didn’t spread.
“Hot damn,” Jack said with wonder. “The spray works.”
“Let’s not test it. Conley, see what you can do over there with the chainsaw. Let’s get back to digging, but divide. Half go past Conley and half stay here. We work towards each other,” Colton ordered.
Nolan ran to the far side with Flint. They got to work digging as Conley had way too much fun cutting down a couple of trees. But with a controlled fall, he was able to keep them away from the fire and stopped any chance of the fire from spreading.