911 lonestar - short stories

- chapter 3

"Cap! The fire is starting to die down", Mateo shouts over the spray of the hose.

The size of the fire still raging spans the entire right side of the third floor and makes the fourth completely blind through smoke.

"We got help!"

More trucks pull in and start unravelling equipment, standing beside the 126 and following Owen's instructions.

"127, I need you around the right side of the building. 122, go with them, we have people on fifth and sixth, we need to control it before we go in".

They've only been here a handful of minutes, but it feels like hours in Owen's eyes. There are people up there, but the heat is still excruciating.

"Captain 130. Can you and your crew check the stairwells on the west hand side".

"Cap, it's not getting better", Paul shouts as another flick of fire cracks into the air.

As the words left his mouth, a clicking sound overtook the shouts of everyone else and a huge helicopter appeared holding a bag at the end of a rope.

They soared over the building and dropped a wave of water and some of the orange flames disappeared into grey.

"We got a bedsheet from the sixth floor window. North side", someone says over the radio. "Are my team safe to go in?"

Owen assesses the fire. Strongest on the east but smoke is starting to become a real problem for anyone left inside.

"Copy that. Permission to enter. Watch your step".

"Copy, Captain".

With everyone from the sixth floor covered for now, the fire is wreaking havoc on the foundations. And they can't wait any longer.

"Suit up!" He shouts to his team. "We're going in. Jud, get this ladder to the fifth floor. 125, can you hold up the fort?"

"We got it under control down here", a woman replies.

Owen jumps up to join his team and takes his place at the front.

"Check your gear, turn on your lights, and stay together in there. The smoke is thick on this one".

He takes an extinguisher from Marjan and they begin walking up the ladder, high in the air. But the height is the least of their worries as the heat starts to build the closer they get.

"Hello?!" He shouts through the widow.

The silence is expected, so he sprays foam around the windowsill and climbs inside, quickly followed by the rest of his team.

"Hello?! Austin FD!"

They can barely see two feet in front, it would be easy to miss someone hiding from the smoke. He shines his torch around as the others step further in to inspect under the bed and in the closets.

"Clear!" Jud shouts from the back of the line.

They move on to a dark bathroom and Owen sees a flicker of movement from the tub.

"We got someone! Middle aged man, responsive to light but needs medical attention! Chavez, you and Marjay get him out and pass him off to the paramedics waiting. The rest of us, move on!"

The man tries to speak and points to the next room as he's taken out. Owen follows his direction and finds a woman on the floor. She's fully unconscious and he doesn't know if she's still breathing. Her face is hard to see through the mask.

"Get her out!" He shouts as Jud carries her to the window where Mateo and Marjay are back to help her down in the basket.

Paul and Owen search the rest of the room and find nothing.

"Clear! Floor five room six is empty", he radios down.

They exit the flat and into the hallway. Half the rooms can be seen, but the other half are hidden in grey.

"Jud, Mateo", he says when they appear. "Take rooms six and seven".

"Marjay, Paul, you're with me in rooms eight, nine, and ten".

They split up, each team staying close together so they don't get lost in the darkness. They use their hands to feel around every surface, making sure they don't miss a single person.

With every step they expect to find someone on the floor, but no one ever is. It would be hard for anyone to still be conscious in here anymore unless they knew what to do. Which made it even more crucial they get everyone.

They only find one person, a young man who had the smarts to tie a cloth around his face. He could barely see through stinging eyes as they helped him over to the window.

Judd and Matteo emerged from another room moments later with a family of five. three young children and two parents. Owen couldn't believe they were still awake.

"Mom barricaded them in the bathroom pretty good", Judd's muffled voice said. "They seem alright".

"Get them to medical", Owen nodded.

"Captain Strand, do you copy?" Came over the radio.

"Copy, 125. What's the issue?"

"The fire on the East wall is getting stronger. The structure isn't looking too good. We recommend you leave".

"How many people booked into rooms on the east of the fifth floor?" Owen asked, ignoring everything else.

There was a pause before the voice came back.

"Only two rooms were booked with one occupant in each. But it's completely alight, they wouldn't have made it. You need to get your team out of there Captain".

Owen watched as they got the last of the family onto the ladder and out the building. The steady whoosh of Matteo's extinguisher came to a stop as the man threw it to the floor.

"All out, Cap!"

"We got one more room", Marjay shouts as she and Paul enter it.

"Did you get everyone out the lower stairwells?" Owen asks through the radio.

"We got seven from the stairwells, it's now clear".

Marjay appears with a man slumped into her side. Paul comes out right behind her.

"All these rooms are clear, Cap. What's our next move?"

A loud rumble that shakes the floor interrupts the conversation. Static comes over the radio before bits and pieces come back.

"Stair- fallen- structure failure-".

"Cap, its time to go", Judd shouted.

Owen stood there, barely a second had gone by, but he made a decision.

"You guys leave now, I'm checking the other rooms. Get out of here!" He shouted before running off.

"CAP, NO!"

The team watched as he disappeared into the smoke filled hallway, completely out of sight and towards the damage.