Arriving at the scenein less than two minutes, the team gets to work. It’s a ten-story apartment building a few blocks from the firehouse. It’s incredible that I passed here just hours before and everything seemed fine.
There’s a crowd in front of the burning structure and another firefighter is already directing everyone to a safer distance. The fire is still only blazing on one side of the upper floors. Likely, it’s stable enough for us to go inside.
Thanks to the organization and efficiency that I’ve always appreciated about firefighters, water is already dousing the flames. As a part of the inside team, I’m running right into the building, with Kevin unfortunately by my side. He moves ahead with enthusiasm, and I groan. I really wish he’d keep the risk-taking to a minimum. I know he thinks I’m a cold son of a bitch, but I’d like for the kid to... not die. You know, with him being my sister’s husband and all.
“Hey, watch yourself in there, Kevin,” I roar at the over-eager idiot. I remember my rookie days when I thought I was superman.
“Wow, you actually care?”
My helmet and face shield are in place so he can’t see me roll my eyes.
We move through, checking for anyone who didn’t make it out. The higher we go, the worse the conditions get. Intense heat, decreased visibility. It isn’t ideal to separate but, discovering multiple people still in their apartments, we have to veer off in different directions. I wander away from the rest, tapped in to what’s going on inside and outside with our radio communication.
A rumble coming from an upper floor grabs my attention. It sounds as if a part of the building has caved in. It’s dangerous to go up alone, but I couldn’t live with myself if someone is trapped up there.
The flames haven’t reached the lower floors, so I make it up quickly and without incident. By the eighth floor, however, it’s like the flames of hell have been let loose. Immediately, I’m overcome with heat, even under my protective gear. Still, I have to make sure no one is stuck here. Before each step, I check the stability of the floorboards.
With this heat, the smoke, and the flames, there’s no way anyone is up here... alive, anyway. But a gut feeling that I’ve learned to obey over time leads me further down the hall.
That’s when I hear it. The tiniest sound of someone calling for help.