Chapter Seven
Blake
Friday morning, I rolled into work just as Tony pulled up and parked. The storm had left several feet of snow in its wake, but Chief had made sure the street in front of the station had been plowed first. It was the little things that he took care of that made a difference in the morale at the fire station, and we all appreciated the effort.
“What’s shakin’ Big B?” Tony called, as he walked toward me. “How’d the teacher conference go yesterday?”
“Good news, bad news,” I said. “My kid is failing History, but her teacher is gorgeous.”
“Ooooh, hot for teacher!” Tony yelled, as he slapped my back. “I’m liking the sound of this!”
“You’re such a damn pervert,” I sighed, as I pulled open the door to the station and walked inside. “She’s Nina’s teacher, for God’s sake. I mean, sure, she’s a knockout, but I didn’t exactly ask about her marital status or whether she’d like to go out for dinner.”
“Why not just ask if she wants to do you on her desk?” Tony asked, as we shoved our backpacks and coats into our lockers.
“You have got to be shitting me,” I laughed. “It was a parent-teacher conference, not some cheesy porn flick, you idiot!”
“I know, but I can dream, can’t I?” Tony asked.
“Not about me or my sex life, you weirdo,” I laughed, as I smacked the back of his head.
We joined the rest of the crew in the kitchen for a breakfast spread that included eggs, bacon, and pancakes. As we dished up our plates and poured ourselves coffee, Chief came into the dining room with a serious look on his face.
“Gentlemen and ladies, we have a new addition to the squad today,” he said, stepping back to reveal a tall, serious-looking young man standing behind him. “I’d like to introduce you to our rookie squad member, Cal Jordan. I’d like you to welcome him and show him the ropes.”
Muttered welcomes rose up from the lips of the squad members bent over their plates, trying to shovel in a meal before a call came in.
“Thanks, it’s good to be here,” Cal said, as he ducked his head and grabbed a plate. Chief shot me and Tony a look before walking back to his office.
I said nothing as I scooted my chair closer to Tony to make room for the new guy. The rest of the squad began asking questions and teasing Cal about his rookie status.
“Fucking great,” Tony mumbled, as he shoved another forkful of pancakes into his mouth.
Suddenly the station bells began ringing as a voice came over the intercom informing us that we had a call. Tony quickly shoved the last piece of bacon on his plate into his mouth and pushed himself away from the table.
“C’mon, rookie!” I yelled, as we all headed for the rigs. Once loaded, I reached over and adjusted the closure on Cal’s coat, telling him, “You have to make sure to close it properly or you’ll end up with a shitload of ash going down your neck and chest.”
He nodded solemnly as he looked down and took note of the proper way to fasten it. I didn’t mind rookies; I just didn’t want to have to babysit them while I was trying to do my job. This kid looked like he’d just graduated from high school, and I worried that he was too green to be of any use at the structure fire we were headed to.
“Rookie, hang back once we get there and just watch,” I said, as we pulled around the corner and parked. “There will be plenty of time for joining in the action, but today’s not the day.”
Tony and I hopped out of the rig and walked over to where Chief was standing, looking up at the two-story house. Flames were shooting out of the upper windows on the west side of the building, and two women stood on the east side of the house pointing up at the windows yelling that there was a man trapped on the second floor. Chief gave us our orders before Tony and I donned our masks and grabbed a hose. The other guys began hoisting a ladder up to the second floor as Tony and I busted open the front door and headed up the stairs. There were flames jumping from the ceiling in the upstairs hallway, and the large wooden banister caught fire as we slowly moved up the stairway toward the second floor.
“Watch out for the sparks!” Tony yelled, as a portion of the ceiling fell down in front of us. The embers lit the carpeting and burned brightly as I aimed the hose and doused the flames. To our left, the house was quickly being consumed by fire while the right side smoldered and threatened to go up at any moment.
“Find the guy they said is up here!” I yelled, as I turned the hose toward the flames.
Tony quickly ran up the stairs and began pounding on doors yelling “Fire Department! Call out!” When he pushed open the third door, he yelled, “Blake, he’s here! I need help lifting him!”
I secured the hose on the stairs and ran to help Tony lift the large man off the floor and carry him to the window. We loaded him on a backboard and then passed him out the window to the guys waiting on the ladder.
“We need to get the flames under control,” I said, as we headed back to the stairs. I grabbed the hose as Tony began chopping holes in the walls to make sure the fire hadn’t spread inside the walls. I could hear the guys on the roof using their axes to vent the fire as I doused the hallway and put out the flames.
When we emerged from the house an hour later, I saw Cal sitting on the curb with his head down between his knees, gasping for air. Tony walked over and slapped him on the back asking, “What the hell happened, rookie?” When Cal couldn’t answer, another of the guys spoke up and said, “He tried to pull the hose out without releasing the hook and knocked the wind out of his sails. Maybe busted a rib or something.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, rookie!” Tony shouted. “What the hell is wrong with you? Did you forget your brain back at the station? Hose usage is basic stuff! What the fuck, you idiot?”
When Cal didn’t respond, Tony stomped off swearing a blue streak as he helped roll up the hoses and store the gear. I walked over to where Cal was sitting and quietly said, “Hey, that was a dumb move all right, but we’ve all been there. Shake it off, rookie. You’ll do better next time.” Cal turned and looked up at me with a solemn expression, then nodded and pushed himself up off the ground.
“You should go over to the EMTs and have them check you out before we head back to the station,” I said. Silently, he nodded and turned to walk away.
Tony sidled up next to me holding a couple of axes in one hand and demanded to know why I was talking to the idiot rookie.
“Ease up, man; you’ve made your point,” I said quietly, as I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, “We’ve all been there before, or have you forgotten?”
“Fuck off, Gaston,” Tony said with a wry grin as he walked to the truck and stored the axes.
“Just saying,” I grinned, as we swung ourselves up into the rig and waited for the driver to take us back to the station.