Chapter 2
Ben, pulling the front door shut behind him, glanced at his phone – he was running late. Fortunately, Pelham Fire Station was only a fifteen-minute walk from his house, so if he walked briskly he’d arrive on time.
People always assumed working nights must be difficult, but Ben, used to shifting his body clock between nights and days, enjoyed the feeling that his ‘day’ was just beginning when everyone else’s was nearly over.
After getting home that morning, he’d had breakfast and then made himself go to bed.
It was always tempting to keep going, but experience told him that he needed to sleep and would feel terrible if he ended up napping in the afternoon, waking feeling groggy and resentful.
Everyone working in the fire service for any length of time eventually found what suited them best when it came to managing shifts, and for Ben it was definitely to get to bed as soon as he came home.
The hardest thing was the noise – trying to sleep when everyone else was up and about was difficult, and in the past it had driven him nuts to hear flatmates crashing around, neighbours slamming doors and people in the street talking loudly.
In truth, he knew people weren’t doing it on purpose, it just felt like they were when you were exhausted.
Fortunately, his current accommodation was in a block of flats built especially for key workers, so his neighbours all understood what it was like to work irregular hours and were always considerate as a result.
The builders working on a nearby house, however, not so much.
He’d lived in his small ground-floor flat for two years, but apart from the huge TV and Xbox, he hadn’t done much to personalise it.
The off-white walls were still bare, the shelf on the wall pretty much empty apart from a few books, and the houseplant his sister had given him in an attempt to ‘brighten things up a bit’ sat wilting on the windowsill.
The flat looked like what it was: a place for him to sleep and store stuff. He didn’t really think of it as home.
Sometimes, looking around his living room, which was lit only by the light of the TV, the image of another flat, another time, flashed into his mind: the warm glow of a lamp, cushions, framed photos on the mantlepiece, a vase of flowers on the coffee table.
All the little touches that showed someone cared.
But those touches – and the person who’d been responsible for them – were gone, and he’d promised himself that he wasn’t going to get attached to any of that again.
Having managed to get a good seven hours of sleep in, Ben woke at five, giving him time to catch up on his washing, take care of some pressing chores, eat dinner and fit in a quick game before heading back to work.
Even after five years on the job, there was still something exciting about heading off into the night, unsure of what the darkness would bring; whether it would be a quiet night of admin and waiting around, or a call-out that saw them rushing to the engine, the noise of the siren and the blue lights cutting through the city streets, the very thing that gave him the buzz that made him want to go to work.
Although he hated to see the damage – to people or to buildings – he had to admit that a busy night went faster than a quiet one and, of course, the feeling of saving someone or something was one they all valued. It made the job worthwhile.
Turning left out of his road, Ben walked fast through the familiar streets towards Camberwick Road, where the station was based.
The massive red doors were thrown open, revealing the three engines parked within. The forecourt was currently empty, the painted yellow zigzag lines spilling out onto the road, warning pedestrians and vehicles to stay clear and take care.
Taz and Vick were already there, preparing for handover from the previous watch.
‘Hey, Ben, how come you live the closest and you’re always late?’ Taz shouted as he spotted Ben’s arrival.
‘I know, I know, I can’t even blame the traffic,’ Ben replied, smiling.
‘You need some young children. They’ll help you get out the house in a hurry,’ said Vick.
‘Long day with the kids?’ asked Ben.
Vick had two young children, and so her days were considerably busier than his, although her husband Brian, also a firefighter, had opposite shifts so they could cover childcare between them. She often joked that fighting fires was easier than dealing with toddlers.
‘Yes, Max has a cold and couldn’t go to nursery, so he’s been at home with me. Dale convinced him to have a nap after lunch, thank God, so I managed to get a bit of sleep.’
‘If we’re quiet, you can always sleep later,’ said Taz.
The station had its own sleeping quarters, which meant firefighters – much to the resentment and teasing of their colleagues in the police force who had no such provision – were able to sleep while on call.
At that moment, the watch commander appeared, and other members of Ben’s crew, Red Watch, moved into line, ready for the parade and inspection.
Ben hurried to throw his rucksack into his battered locker and head back smartish to fall in next to Vick.
‘You don’t half cut things fine,’ she hissed at him out of the corner of her mouth.
His heart beating fast following his dash back from the common room, Ben vowed to leave home earlier in future.