By
Disclaimer: Don’t own them; deck is progressing.
Copyright 2003.
7:45 Core 37.7°C / 99.8°F
"Hey Johnny, how’s it going? Ready for a fun-filled day of playing in the rain?"
"Roy, you’re sickeningly cheerful this morning. What’s the occasion?"
"No occasion, just a wonderful day in the neighborhood."
"You’re mother-in-law canceled her visit, didn’t she?"
"Yeah, she did; her women’s club is making a spur-of -the-moment trip to Vegas."
"Pity."
"My sentiments exactly."
8:49 Core 37.7°C / 99.8°F
"Man, it’s really pouring. I can barely see the road."
"I guess it’s a good thing I’m driving then."
"Funny guy! Wait, there Roy, I see someone."
"Yeah, I got him Johnny."
Roy pulled the squad to the drop-off side of the canyon road, keeping an eye out for the engine behind them.
"Man, I don’t see them yet. Where the hell are they?"
An incredibly wet and fairly hysterical teenager ran up to Johnny’s window.
"Come on, hurry up, you got to help him."
"Calm down, I need you to slow down."
"Okay, yeah."
"Better?" The kid nodded. "All right, back off and let me out of the vehicle and then you can tell me what’s going on."
Johnny’s diversion worked. By the time he was out of the squad, the young man was calm enough to make sense.
"Okay, tell us what happened."
"Todd, he went over the edge; he fell; he’s hurt."
"Whoa, you’re losing me again. Slow down."
"Todd and I were hitching. A truck came around the corner and he must not have seen us, because we thought he was going to hit us. We jumped the guardrail to get out off the way. Todd slipped. I tried to grab him, but I missed. He went all the way down."
"Okay buddy, what’s your name?"
"Joma."
"Okay Joma, we’re going to help him." Johnny reached into one of the squads’ compartments and grabbed a blanket. "Wrap this around yourself and sit in the cab."
Joma gratefully took the blanket and hopped into the vehicle. Johnny closed the door behind him.
"Can you see him Roy?"
Roy had listened to Joma’s description of the accident and had gone looking for the other boy as soon as he caught the gist.
"Yeah, Johnny, I see him. He’s on his back in the shallows of the creek. He’s not moving, and I get no response when I yell."
"Okay, I’ll get the ropes and rig them. You better find out where the engine is. We’re gonna need more hands to get him out of there. I’ll go down by myself first and find out if this is a rescue or a recovery."
"All right Junior."
9:25 Core 37.5°C / 99.5°F
Johnny had the ropes ready by the time Roy was done on the radio.
"A tree went down on the road behind us. The guys are going to have to clear it before they can get through. We’re on our own until then."
"Oh, that’s just great!"
"I’ll use the squad to help anchor you. That should give you enough stability to get down there. Take the HT."
"Sounds good. See you in a while."
Johnny made his way down the cliff face. It was slow going. The rain had loosened some rocks and scree and Johnny didn’t want to dislodge anything that might hit the boy below. He had offset the ropes, but falling rock was unpredictable. Given the height of the cliff, Johnny knew the only way the boy could still be alive was if some of the vegetation clinging to the rock face had slowed his descent.
Someone, somewhere, was looking out for Todd that day.
"He’s alive, Roy. Pulse 54, Respiration’s 8, Not responding to pain. Pupils equal but sluggish. We have to be dealing with some form of head and spinal injury. I can’t get him out of the water without a backboard. I’m going to have to take him out deeper to get a hold on him. With any luck, the water temp. will help keep the swelling down but hypothermia is going to set in fast. I going to lose radio contact with you. I hope the engine gets here soon."
Johnny eased the teenager out into waist deep water. By the time he had the spinal hold on him, he was bent at the waist and knees and the water was lapping around his ears and chin.
Man, I really hate water rescues.
There was little Roy could do up top but wait. He alternated between reassuring Joma, looking down on Johnny, and checking on the engine’s progress. It was an intensely frustrating 45 minutes.
10:14 Core 36.1°C / 96.9°F
Johnny was rapidly losing contact with his extremities and his sense of adventure. The adrenaline from the climb had long since worn off and the discomfort of the hold was making itself well known. He didn’t have the luxury of being able to move to warm up so it didn’t take long for the cold to seep into his bones. In addition, he had to fight his body’s natural inclination to shiver. Any excess movement could prove fatal for the boy he had clamped between his arms.
10:26 Core 35.7°C / 96.3°F
Roy breathed a sigh of relief as Big Red finally came into view. He yelled down to Johnny.
"They’re here partner. Hang on just a little while longer."
Captain Stanley approached.
"Okay Roy, let’s get this show on the road."
Chet and Marco had jumped out and started rigging ropes as soon as Mike had the engine stopped. Mike started gathering the equipment that would be necessary. Having maintained radio contact with Roy, they already knew what needed to be done.
Roy and Marco made the descent.
Johnny, having control of the head, led the rescue.
"Okay, line the board up. Get it under at a 45 degree angle. Good. Right underneath him? Okay, float it straight up, nice and slow. Okay, looks good. Marco support the board right there. Roy, got the straps? Sandbags? Okay, looks good."
"Okay Johnny, he’s secure. You can let go now."
10:39 Core 35.4°C / 95.7°F
Johnny straightened up. At least he thought he did. In reality, he looked more like a 90 year-old wearing a 60lb pack. Had the situation been different, Marco would have found it vastly amusing. The shivering came on with a vengeance, making it hard to function.
Luckily for Johnny, within minutes, the adrenaline was pouring back into his system and he helped his teammates carry the backboard to the Stokes. The Stokes was hoisted up, with Roy attending it. Johnny and Marco braced it from below.
10:48 Core 35.2°C / 95.3°F
"Okay John, it’s our turn. You ready?"
Johnny looked up.
That’s a long climb. I hope I don’t shiver myself off the rope.
"I think so, Marco. You don’t actually need feeling in your hands to climb a cliff, do you?"
"It’s okay pal. Chet will do most of the work for you. You just sit back and enjoy the ride."
"Oh, that makes me feel much better!"
10:54 Core 35.1°C / 95.1°F
By the time they arrived topside, Roy and the two hitchhikers were on their way to Rampart.
Cap had a blanket waiting for the soggy paramedic but it was like putting a bandaid on the Titanic. He was still cold, wet, and with the addition of the blanket, vaguely resembled the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Chet wasted no time in pointing this out.
"Are you all right John?"
"Yeah, Cap, I’m okay. I’ll grab a shower and some coffee when I get to Rampart."
"Are you sure you can drive?"
"Yeah, I can drive. I’ll see you back at the station."
The trip was miserable. Every time he tried to turn on the heater, the steam rising off his clothes fogged up the windows. He gave up trying and just drove. The shivering helped a little.
11:26 Core 35.2°C / 95.3°F
He walked in the ER door and met right up with Roy.
"How is he?"
"They don’t know yet. He’s stable right now, but it’s too early to tell about the back injury. Early’s in there now."
"The kid’s lucky. He’s one of the best."
"Yeah, look Junior, I got some bad news. Cap just radioed. He needs us back at the station. Two kids are missing and he’s pretty sure we’re going to get called in to help with the search. I know you were looking forward to a shower, but it’s going to have to wait. Sorry."
"Ah, man, this is a conspiracy. Is there some great cosmic joke being played on me? Sometimes it feels like there’s someone out there going ‘Make Johnny Sneeze’, ‘Make Johnny Cough’ or ‘Make Johnny Bleed’ and then poof- I’m sneezing, coughing and bleeding all over the place. Geez, can’t a guy catch a break? All I want is a lousy shower!"
Roy had trouble keeping a straight face. "Johnny, if you’re quite through, the sooner we get to the station, the sooner you’ll get your shower. If you really hurry, I may even get you a lousy cup of coffee."
"Yeah, the lousy part, that I believe."
The sarcasm did Roy in. His laughter rang through the hallway.
Johnny shivered all the way back to the station.
11:41 Core 35.4°C / 95.7°F
Roy backed the squad into the bay.
"Don’t bother getting out. It looks like they found the missing kids; they’re trapped in a culvert over by Lion’s Park. We have to go and get them out." Captain Stanley handed the run slip to Roy, who passed it on.
"Sorry Junior."
Johnny didn’t bother replying.
11:53 Core 35.5°C / 95.9°F
The rain was still pouring down as they pulled up to the scene. The excess moisture had turned a normally benign little creek into a raging torrent. The vehicles from Station 51 pulled up and parked beside the two police cruisers already there. The men jumped out and approached the officers.
"Hey Vince, how does it look?"
"Captain, guys, sorry to get you out in this storm."
"No worries Vince, we’re used to a little water."
"Yeah, I guess you would be. We have two 10 year-olds who thought it would be fun to play in the stream. The current took them and now they’re trapped up against a grate, about 15 feet into the culvert. We’ve been talking to them and they say they’re okay, just cold and wet. Problem is the water is still rising; there won’t be air in there for much longer."
"All right, we’ll send someone in to grab them. Johnny, sorry to do this to you pal, but looks like you’re best fit. That thing isn’t very big."
Johnny and Roy had already reached the same conclusion and were preparing the harnesses. Marco, Chet and Mike were rigging the ropes.
"Okay partner, are you ready to do this?"
"Not really, but I’m going in anyway."
12:14 Core 35.3°C / 95.5°F
Johnny made his way down the slippery bank. He eased himself into the water and was immediately struck by the force of the current. He let it take him into the mouth of the pipe and the darkness beyond.
"Hey boys, I’m Firefighter John Gage. My partners out there and I are here to get you out. Are either of you hurt?"
The beam of Johnny’s flashlight picked up two bedraggled kids clinging to a large metal grate, surrounded by debris. The relief on the boys’ faces was obvious.
"Yeah, get us out of here."
"I want to go home."
"Okay, okay, this is how it’s going to work. I’m going to take you out one at a time..."
Both boys started protesting.
"Hey, calm down. It’s the only way. ‘Course if you’d both just rather stay here..."
The boys let out a resounding "NO".
Johnny laughed. "Good, because I’d have to stay too, and that doesn’t sound like much fun to me."
When the boys let out nervous giggles, Johnny knew he would have their cooperation.
"All right, first thing, I’ve got two lifejackets here that we got to get on you. What’s your name buddy?"
"It’s Leroy, and that’s Troy."
"Okay Leroy, you stay where you are for a minute while I help Troy and then it will be your turn."
Johnny managed to get the two boys into the flotation jackets. Since Leroy had been doing most of the talking and seemed to be holding his own, Johnny decided to take Troy out first.
"Okay Leroy, I’m going to get Troy out first and then come back for you. Keep talking to me. We’ll be able to hear each other the whole time. Just be brave for a little while longer and I’ll be right back."
"Okay Mr. Gage."
"Call me Johnny, kid. You’ve earned that right."
12:47 Core 35.0°C / 95.0°F
Even though Johnny had Troy attached to the second line he had brought with him, he still kept a tight hold on the young adventurer. Behind them, he could hear Leroy singing to himself.
That’s it kid; keep it up. You are one tough mug.
Now that he was pushing against the current, Johnny had to fight for every inch. The water was still rising and was up to his chest. Debris was all around, and he had to use his free arm to deflect it. It was agonizingly slow going and he gave up mumbling encouragement to his young passenger in order to maximize his oxygen intake.
After what seemed like 15 miles, as opposed to 15 feet, Johnny emerged into the gray light of day. He eased his way over to the bank, silently thanking the men on the other end of the ropes.
"Okay Johnny, we got him."
The rope was taken off the boy and handed back to the exhausted man. Time for the turn around.
13:14 Core 34.7°C / 94.4°F
"Kay Leroy, it’s your turn."
Johnny’s movements were sluggish. He wasted another four minutes before he could get his frozen fingers to follow his commands and secure the second child to the rope. The water was now up to his shoulders.
"Okay buddy, let’s get out of here."
13:19 Core 34.6°C / 94.2°F
The rising water made the trip back even harder. Johnny was panting with exertion and as a result, was swallowing water with almost every step. With the help of the lifejacket, Leroy was managing to keep his head out of the water. He was tolerating the journey a bit better than his companion had, and realized, without needing to be told, that the more relaxed he was, the easier it would be for his rescuer. It still took another 30 minutes to travel the short distance to freedom.
13:47 Core 34.1°C / 93.3°F
Hands reached out and grabbed the two tunnel dwellers as they emerged. Johnny gladly relinquished care of the child and collapsed exhausted on the bank, coughing violently. The coughing quickly turned to retching, as his body tried to get rid of the foul water he had ingested. He rolled to his side, too tired to even try to sit up. He vaguely registered a blanket being placed around his shoulders and a hand supporting him. He recognized Mike Stoker’s voice.
"Good job, Johnny. It’s all over now."
13:56 Core 33.9°C / 93.0°F
Captain Stanley walked over to the huddled, shivering lump that was his junior paramedic.
"Okay, Johnny, Roy’s ready to head to Rampart with the boys. They look pretty good considering: just a few bumps and bruises from the debris and mild hypothermia. I’m going to get Marco to drive you and the squad over there. You don’t look like you could hang onto the steering wheel the way you’re shaking. We’ll see you back at the station."
"TTThanks, CCap."
14:07 Core 33.8°C / 92.8°F
"Johnny, are you okay? You look..kinda..wet."
"Thanks for noticing, Dix."
"I’m sorry Johnny. I shouldn’t laugh, but you really give new meaning to the term ‘drowned rat’."
"I’m glad I could brighten your day."
Through the exchange, Johnny continued to suffer from violent bouts of shivering, alternating with coughing.
"You know Johnny, that doesn’t sound too good. I think we should get Kel to take a look at you."
"No, please Dix. I just swallowed a bunch of water on that last rescue and it just needs to work it’s way out. I’ll be fine. All I want right now is a long hot shower. Besides, we have to get Marco back to the station ASAP. As long as he’s here with us, the whole station is out of service."
"Okay Johnny, I’ll let it go this time, but if it hasn’t cleared up by the end of the shift, I want you back here."
"Yes, Mom."
Dixie playfully cuffed the young man across the shoulder.
"Go find Roy and get out of here. I have work to do."
Johnny and Marco said their good-bye’s and headed down the hallway. Roy was coming out of treatment 2 and fell into step beside them.
"How are the boys?"
"Doc says they’ll be fine. They’ll be able to go home later this afternoon. Those two are probably gonna wish they had been admitted after their parents get through with them.
14:23 Core 33.9°C / 93.0°F
Roy watched his partner try to untie his shoelaces with fingers that were still ignoring the simplest of commands.
"Need some help Johnny?"
"No thanks Roy. I’ve actually been undressing myself for a couple years now."
Roy didn’t take Johnny’s sarcasm to heart. He was cold and exhausted from the mornings’ runs and he hadn’t been the one in the water. He knew his partner must be feeling ten times worse.
Johnny made his way to the shower, feeling slightly guilty for snapping at his partner.
Oh well, I’ll apologize after I shower. Hope there’s plenty of hot water.
He was just reaching for the taps when the klaxons went off.
Man, this is not my day.
He jumped back into his wet pants and shoes, grabbed his shirt and headed to the squad.
14:29 Core 34.0°C / 93.2°F
"You’d think people would have the sense to stay in out of the rain. I mean, look at it. It is raining St. Bernard’s and Cheetahs. Why can’t people just use their common sense for a change, instead of putting their brains on the coat rack and heading out the door."
Normally, a rant like this would have brought a smile to Roy’s face. Today however, he was more concerned by the fact that Johnny was having an inordinate amount of trouble manipulating his shirt buttons.
When this run is over, I’m gonna get Cap to put us out of service, at least until he gets dry.
Once again the squad was headed to a water rescue. The call had come in as a man trapped in a boat on the river that ran through Cypress Park. It sounded pretty suspicious, because that river wasn’t large enough for much more than a kids toy yacht.
14:41 Core 34.1°C / 93.3°F
On arrival at the park entry, they were directed by the lone park worker to an area just off the road.
"You have to walk from here. A tree fell across the river, and some nut on an inner tube has managed to get himself hung up on it. He’s screaming his fool head off."
Sure enough, when the men listened they could hear a tremendous racket coming from the direction of the river.
"Okay guys, grab some rope and harnesses; we’ll come back for more equipment if we need it."
The crew followed their captains’ directions and were soon headed along the river bank. Once again, they were all struck by the effect the day’s precipitation had had on the water level.
With each step they took, they could hear the yelling getting louder and in no time, they reached the site of the commotion. The rising river had washed the roots out from under a small tree and it had flopped over to rest with an end on each bank. In the midst of the branches sat a rather large gentleman on a rather small inner tube. It would make a good story to tell at the pub later.
"Hey pal, we’re with the fire department and we’re here to help you. You have to calm down and talk to us." Cap’s words had no effect on the screams.
"Well, this is going to be a joy." The men turned at the words and saw Vince approaching their position. "After you guys get him out, I’m going to charge him under Section 17 of the Stupid People’s Act."
"What’s Section 17 Vince?"
"Violating Darwin’s Theory."
The men from Station 51 all tried to hide their laughter. They didn’t need a complaint to the Chief about unprofessionalism. The only person not enjoying the joke was Johnny. Given the diameter of the tree, he knew who was going to have to perform this rescue.
Without saying a word to anyone, he got into his safety harness and started tying the ropes. His hope was to get a line around the guys ‘boat’ and have the crew pull him out. Sounded good in theory.
14:52 Core 33.9°C / 93.0°F
Johnny inched his way out to the stranded man. The yelling was irritating an emerging headache.
"Hey, listen to me. HEY! Listen up!"
The man looked around for a minute before settling his gaze on the treed paramedic. The screams finally died.
"Are you hurt?" He didn’t get an answer.
"Buddy, you got to help me out a little. Are you hurt anywhere?" If Johnny had been feeling a bit better, he would have probably picked up on the crazed look glazing over the man’s features. As it was, he was totally unprepared for the lunge that came and sent him toppling of his perch.
And now, I’m back in the water; again.
He did an inventory.
I’m still in one piece. Got lucky. Course I’m so cold, I could have broken a leg and still wouldn’t feel it.
Once confident everything was still a go, he yelled back to the men on the river’s edge.
"I’m okay. I’m going to try to get to him through the water."
"Roy, did you get that?"
"No, Cap, he sounds like he’s got a mouth full of marbles."
"Say again Johnny, we didn’t understand."
"I’m going to try to get to him through the water."
"Okay Johnny, we got ya that time."
15:07 Core 33.6°C / 92.4°F
Johnny worked his way through the branches until he was in the man’s field of vision, but not close enough to be surprised again. It took 15 more minutes to calm the man to the point that Johnny felt comfortable enough to approach and secure a rope. During this time the man’s flailing caused small waves that consistently broke over Johnny’s head, again allowing ample ingestion.
"Okay guys, haul him in."
Again, Roy yelled out to Johnny for clarification. "What was that?"
" I said, ‘Haul him in’!"
"What’s up with him, he almost sounds drunk."
"It’s the cold, Cap. Once we get out of here, we got to get him warm."
The crew hauled in their catch, like deep sea fishermen landing a trophy. Johnny trailed far enough behind that he wouldn’t be in the way, but close enough to still respond, should disaster strike. In reality, he was having trouble focusing his vision on the bank. It was taking every ounce of his energy to fight his way to the edge.
15:22 Core 33.3°C / 91.9°F
He reached the bank and managed to drag himself out of the water. His shiftmates were busy performing a delicate extrication: ass from rubber ring.
I’ll just lie here for a minute.
It wasn’t long before, for the second time that day, Johnny found himself puking into the mud, with Mike Stoker, once again, holding his head for him.
15:41 Core 32.8°C / 91.0°F
"Johnny, we’re almost back at the station. We’ll get you in the shower and warmed up. Not much longer."
Johnny couldn’t answer. Somewhere between the retching and the cold, his tongue had turned into an immovable mass of tissue, rendering speech impossible.
"Station 51, car off pier, 17352 Candle Road, time out 15:41"
Captain Stanley’s voice came over the radio.
"Can we take this, Roy?"
Roy looked at his partner. Johnny nodded.
"Yeah Cap, we can do it. There is no other station close to there."
15:52 Core 32.3°C / 90.1°F
"Hey, Hey, Over Here!"
Mike and Roy followed the man’s frantic directions and came to a stop by the edge of the pier.
"I don’t know what happened. I was fishing, and I heard tires squealing. Next thing I knew, this car went right of the dock."
"Could you tell how many people were in it?"
"I only saw a driver, but I could be wrong."
"Thanks pal, we’ll take it from here. Johnny, Roy, time for a swim."
The two paramedics dove in to the water and started diving down to locate the submerged vehicle. Johnny was having trouble swimming.
I must have pulled something on that last one. My shoulders are really stiff.
So are my legs. Man, I really hate water rescues.
16:06 Core 31.7°C / 89.0°F
"It’s here Johnny."
Johnny nodded to his partner, and followed him under the water. The car was sitting on the ocean bed, about 16 feet down. A man was visible through the window, his head in a small air pocket, towards the back window. He was the lone occupant.
They signaled to him to let him know they’d be back, and headed up to the surface.
"Okay Johnny, we’ll take turns going down. Let’s try the easiest thing first. If we can get him to roll down a window, he should just be able to swim out. I’ll go first. We’ll switch out every minute." Johnny nodded his agreement.
I hope this goes that easy. I guess the good news is I’ve finally stopped shivering.
Johnny counted out the minute and headed back down to the car. He tapped Roy on the back and took over signaling to the trapped man. It took three more rotations before they convinced the man to give it a try. When he finally gave it a shot, it worked like a charm. Moments later, all three were at the surface and headed back towards the pier.
16:17 Core 31.0°C / 87.8°F
"Marco, take Johnny and follow the ambulance to Rampart."
"Okay Cap; come on Johnny. Let’s see if they’ll let you use the shower in their locker room."
Johnny stumbled blindly to the squad and climbed in.
16:25 Core 30.7°C / 87.2°F
I am so tired. I’ll just sleep till we get there.
16:31 Core 30.4°C / 86.7°F
"Wake up Johnny, we’re here. Johnny? Johnny?"
23:43 Core 36.8°C / 98.2°F
"Hey Johnny, you’re awake."
"Dixie?"
"Yes, it’s me. How you feeling?"
"I don’t know. What am I doing here?"
"You came in with hypothermia this afternoon. Your core temperature was down to 30.2 when we got a reading. You gave us all a real scare."
"Wow, I knew I was cold, but it didn’t seem that bad. Are the kids okay?"
"Which kids?"
"You know, the ones from the culvert. Our last rescue, remember?"
"Johnny, you did two more after that."
"I did? I don’t remember anything after that."
"It’s okay Johnny, it’s not a big deal. I want you to try and get some rest now. I have to go and phone the station. They’ve been phoning every half hour asking about you."
Johnny was asleep before she made it to the door.
Two Days Later
11:44 Core 37.7°C / 99.8°F
"Well partner, you ready to get out of here?"
"Absolutely, Roy. I’ve had enough of being poked and prodded. I just want to go home and relax."
"Sorry Junior, that’s going to have to wait. Everyone felt so bad about what happened, and none of us picking up on it, we decided to do something special for you."
"Ah, you guys didn’t have to do anything."
"We wanted to. Let’s get you out of here, we don’t want to be late." Johnny hopped into the waiting wheelchair for the obligatory ride down to the parking lot. Roy began pushing him. "Besides, we have to stop by your place first."
"How come?"
Roy gave the chair an extra push, and it rolled away from him.
"We have to pick up your swim suit. We decided you would like a pool party!"
"ROY!!!"
The End