Wildfire!
By Robin, Teresa, Alice, Pat, Jamison, Julie, KC, JO,
& Cameron.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: We realize that Emergency took place in the '70's, while the Florida wildfires happened in 1998. However, we just couldn't resist sending the guys in to help put out the blaze! Please consider time relative in the following story.
~*~
"Look at that!" Marco Lopez pointed to the image of
a fire on the television screen. Dense clouds of smoke rose over
a wall of pure orange. It immediately caught the attention of
everyone in the room.
"Turn it up, Marco," said Hank. The captain of Station
51 came over to watch the latest news bulletin from Florida. Mike
and Chet gathered around as well.
"The fires have destroyed countless homes, and is spreading
Northeast. The Florida Highway Patrol has closed down at least 50
miles of Interstate 95. The governor is declaring a state of
emergency as law enforcement officials begin a mandatory
evacuation for all of Flaglar County." The reporter stepped
out of the picture as the camera zoomed in on firefighters in the
background. "These firemen have been working around the
clock with no relief from the high temperatures and humidity.
Cases of heat exhaustion and injuries are mounting, as
firefighters from around the country and even the world join the
fight. This is Mary Baer, reporting." Marco leaned over and
turned the volume down.
"That's almost as bad as one of our brush fires," Chet
said thoughtfully, as he stroked his mustache.
"What's almost as bad as a brush fire?" Johnny said as
he followed his partner, Roy DeSoto, into the room. The engine
crew looked up; they hadn't heard the squad pull in.
"Those Florida fires. It looks really bad!" Marco
replied. "You should see all those trees burning. At least
we don't have to deal with that out here!"
"We're not in competition here." Cap said.
"Aren't they evacuating an entire county?" Roy said,
as he poured himself some coffee. "They had the news turned
on at Rampart."
"Ours are bad enough, buddy. We're not in competition here,"
Cap told him. "You know, Los Angeles is even thinking about
sending a team out there to help."
"That's not the way I'd like to see Florida." commented
Roy.
"Me either, pal," Captain Stanley agreed. He looked at
the men around him. "All the same, I think we should all be
prepared for that possibility."
"Florida?" John asked. "Do you really think we
may have to go to Florida?"
"Problem, Gage?"
"No, no Cap, no problem," John frowned and left the
room. Roy watched as his partner left the room.
"He didn't seem to like that idea." Cap shook his head.
"Well, it will be strictly volunteer, but I would encourage all of my men to do so. They really need the help." The phone rang in his office and he went to answer it. The men sat impatiently waiting, fidgeting, and trying to remain concentrated on the horrifying scene on the T.V. Captain Stanley returned to the day room, placing his hands on his hips. He looked at each man individually and then spilled his news. "That was the Chief." He took a deep breath. "He’s getting a team ready to head to Florida. He stressed that they need paramedics." Roy nodded and went in search of Johnny. He heard the others all volunteer their services, as he left the room. He found his partner outside, leaning against his Land Rover.
"John?" Roy questioned. His dark haired partner looked up at him. "The chief just called and said they were looking for volunteers to help in Florida."
"You going to go?" Johnny asked. Roy looked at his feet, then up into his partners’ face.
"Joanne and I were talking about it last night. I told her that they might ask for some of us to go. She said it was my decision." Johnny smiled.
"Like your promotion, hum?"
"Yeah, like my promotion," Roy returned the smile.
"So, are you?"
"I’m thinking about it. I’ll talk it over again
with Jo, but I’m sure that she’ll approve." Roy
stepped over and leaned on the Land Rover next to his partner.
"Will you be going?"
Johnny hesitated. "I thought this was something you'd be
first in line for?" John sighed.
"Normally, Roy, I would... for anywhere but Florida."
"Florida is supposed to be a great place. What’s wrong
with it?"
"It's not that I don't like Florida," Johnny stuttered
to explain. "It's… well… I have family there...
and I like to keep as much distance between us as possible."
Roy as he scratched the back of his head.
"I know you've never talked much about them, but... John, they're family." Johnny stared at the pavement and clenched his jaw. He pushed the loose gravel with his foot.
"It's a long story, and one I really don't want to go into right now." He folded his arms across his chest, then looked at Roy. "It was a long time ago, and I'd rather leave the past where it is, okay?" Roy shrugged.
"Okay, but the rest of the guys just volunteered to go, and I think Cap's expecting you to volunteer, too." He stood away from the vehicle to leave, then paused, and looked back at Johnny. "Listen, I hope you know that if you ever want to talk…" One corner of Johnny's mouth curled up.
"I can talk to you, thanks."
"You coming in?" asked Roy as he scratched his nose.
"I'll be in shortly," Johnny lifted his body up on to
the hood of his Land Rover. "I want to sit out here for a
while, get a little fresh air." Roy nodded and walked
towards the apparatus bay door. He turned around and studied his
partner. Johnny stared at the sky, his expression somber. He lay
back against the windshield, rubbed his eyes, and then rested his
hands in his lap. Roy worriedly shook his head and opened the
door. The tones sounded.
"Station 51, station 127, brush fire Topenga Canyon. Time
out 8:15.
"Station 51, 10-4 KMG 365," Stanley acknowledged and
headed for the engine.
~*~
As the men pulled up the canyon, they spied the wisps of gray
smoke rising over the ridge. Over the radio the captain from 127
could be heard calling dispatch, "LA Request Copter 2 make a
water drop at this location."
"10-4, 127." As the men from 51 pulled up to the scene,
the captain from 127 climbed up on the running board of the
engine.
"Good to see ya, Hank. I need you guys to go up to that
clearing and fill Copter 2. I think we've got this fire pretty
much contained."
"You got it, Earl." Captain Stanley motioned to Mike to
head on up to the clearing. Once they were there, Chet and Marco
grabbed the lines, and ran over to the chopper. Once the tanks
were full, the chopper climbed up over the fire and released its
water supply.
Steam and smoke rose from the side of the canyon, as the Captain
of 127 called over the radio.
"LA Fire under control, Stations 127 and 51 out 2 hours
for clean up."
"10-4, 127." Later that afternoon, six tired, dirty
firemen trudged into the break room.
"Whose turn is it to make dinner?" Chet asked, as he
dropped onto the couch.
"I believe it’s your turn," Johnny retorted as he too dropped into the nearest chair. The rest of the guys followed as each one found a place to rest. Hank walked through the doorway, and looked at his grubby crew.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm
hitting the showers." Hank turned around to leave and ran
straight into Chief McConnikee. The collision sounded horrible.
Hank grabbed McConnikee before he fell to the ground. Then, Hank
turned bright red under all the soot on his face. "I'm sorry,
Chief. I didn't see you standing there," Hank said
apologetically.
"Never mind that, Hank." McConnikee shot back as he
regained his composure. He motioned Captain Stanley to follow him
as he strolled in to the room and sat down at the table. "I've
come to talk to you and your men about a very important
assignment. I'm assembling a team of volunteers to go to Florida.
Are any of your men interested?"
"I asked the men, after your call this morning," Stanley declared quickly. "I didn’t get any answer from either of my paramedics though." Hank looked at his medical team.
"Joanne and I discussed that possibility last night, and she didn’t seem to have a problem with me volunteering. I’d still like to say good bye to her and the kids before we take off."
"We won’t be leaving for another day or so, you need
to finish out your shift." McConnikee told him. "I’ll
add your names to the roster, and start assigning your duty
replacements."
"How long will we be gone, Chief?" Mike asked, from his
seat at the table. McConnikee’s grin faded abruptly.
"I wish I could give you a definite answer, Stoker. It may take a while to put those fires out." The look on the chief’s face grew grim. "You could get called back here for a brush fire before that will happen though. It’s a big job." The room got very quiet, as the magnitude of what they would be facing became clear. McConnikee looked at the dark haired paramedic, "I haven’t heard from your corner."
"Sorry sir, I’ll volunteer. I have family down there that I’m not to close with. I won’t let you down." The quiet lasted for a moment longer. The Chief finally broke the mood.
"Well, Stanley, you’d better tell your wife you won’t
be able to fix her Edsel now!"
"News sure gets around in this department." Hank was
startled at his superior’s comment, as his crew tried to
stifle their laughter. McConnikee threw an arm around Hank’s
shoulders and lead him out into the vehicle bay. Roy turned to
Johnny.
"I’d better go call Joanne, too. Are you really all right about going home?" Johnny sighed.
"Check with me later, okay?" Johnny gave his partner a wan smile.
~*~
Thirty-six hours later, McConnikee led the men of 51 out into
the parking lot of
Jacksonville International Airport. A young woman waited at the
van that would take them to the staging area. She smiled at
Johnny, who avoided looking directly at her. Roy noticed the
interaction between the two.
"The rains in the winter made the underbrush grow, then a
drought hit in spring. Every forest in the state is a tinderbox."
The Chief explained, as he handed Stanley the report headquarters
had sent to him. "The real trouble is down south, of course,
where we’ll be headed," the chief grew quiet as they
finally noticed their surroundings. The air was stiflingly hot,
and filled with a thick haze of smoke. The pine trees around the
airport swayed with dangerously high winds that covered
everything with a thin layer of ash. As they approached the van,
he introduced the young woman. "This is engineer Noira
Robynson, she will be taking us up to the fire." Everyone
acknowledged her, except Johnny as they climbed into the van. Roy
watched her countenance as Johnny ignored her. Something awful
had happened between these two. Chet had struck up a conversation
with her on the way to the fire, as did Mike and Marco. Johnny
had remained extraordinarily quiet, for him, in front of a
beautiful woman. The entire crew had grown attached to this woman
in the hour that they had spent with her. Johnny could only stare
out of the side window, watching the fire.
Six hours later, Roy barely noticed the chaos around him as he
worked at the medical tent of the staging area, preparing yet
another overcome firefighter to be transported to the hospital.
He glanced at the wall of flames outside as he finished the I.V
and efficiently injected it into the man's arm.
"This man's ready for transport," he called out. Two
waiting paramedics quickly picked up the stretcher and carried
the patient away. Roy turned back to his area to arrange his
supplies for the next customer. Johnny seemed to appear out of
nowhere.
"Hey, Roy, are you ready for a break?" The older man
sighed numbly. He'd been ready a couple of hours ago, but he didn't
want to leave if he were still needed.
"Come on, we've been working for hours. We don't want to get
heat exhaustion ourselves." Roy smiled.
"It’s not often, but when you’re right, you’re
right." The two men walked up the road to a clear spot
behind the staging area. They took the water that was offered to
them, and found a place to sit on the ground. Neither spoke for
several minutes, letting their tired bones rest, and enjoying a
small respite from the suffocating temperatures.
"So, is it like you remember it?" Roy asked, as he
stared at the orange glow just a few hundred yards away. Johnny
sighed and lay back on the dirt.
"No, I can't say I remember it being much like this."
Johnny sat up and looked away, not wanting to meet his partner's
eyes. "Roy, do you see that?" There was a small
commotion at the staging area. "Let's see what's going on!"
Johnny leapt to his feet, and headed back.
"Now, Johnny, if they needed us..." but it was too late.
Roy sighed, finally making it to his feet, following his partner
down the road.
"We have to go back! There might be a chance!" Hank
Stanley and Marco Lopez were holding Chet Kelly's arms as he
struggled against them. "They could still be alive."
"Cap?" Roy questioned. Stanley glanced at Roy but didn't answer. He did drag Chet over to the paramedic.
"Chet needs some help, Roy. He has some burns on his hands." Roy looked down at the Irishman’s hands.
"It's not too bad." Roy commented.
"See, I told you Cap. Please let me go back, they need help," Chet plead. The look on Stanley’s face told him to quit.
"Come on, Chet. It’s only first degree. We'll get
you taken care of." Johnny turned to Mike as the crew
followed Roy and Chet to the medical tent.
"What's wrong?" The engineer didn't meet his eyes for a
minute. When he finally did, he was bleak.
"The fire jumped the Interstate where we were working. We
got separated from Station 57."
"But maybe Chet's right! They could still be… "
"No, Johnny." The engineer's voice was unnaturally deep.
"There's no way anyone could have survived."
"No wonder Cap wouldn't answer," Johnny commented. For a moment he swayed on his feet, thinking about the dead firefighters. This fire was getting worse. As they approached the medical tent, an engine pulled up. Four men jumped off of the back, pulling someone off. Roy ran up to the men to assess their patient. As he looked down into the face of the burned firefighter, recognition dawned, and he was frozen in his tracks.
"Noira," he whispered. "Get her into the medical tent." He followed right behind them. "Chet, I want you in that chair over there, and I’ll be right with you." He pointed at a chair against a pole. Chet nodded and sat down.
~*~
Chet sat in the tent, waiting for Roy to return with the bandages. In all the commotion, Chet felt like he’d been forgotten. All he could think about were the trapped firefighters, and how he had left them.
"I have to go back out there," Chet whispered, a cold determination gripped his heart. He stood and exited the tent. He over-heard Johnny arguing with Captain Stanley about going back to help the trapped firefighters. Chet quickly hid behind a port-a-potty, and listened.
"You’re needed here," Stanley told his
paramedic.
"But…" Johnny wanted to continue his argument, but
when Stanley cleared his throat, Johnny knew to end it. "Fine,"
was the answer that came out of his mouth. He crossed his arms
and turned his back, in blatant insubordination. Captain Stanley
sighed in frustration, turned, and headed for the medical tent,
Mike close on his heels. Johnny waited for the two men to leave,
before acting. Chet watched Johnny head for his turn out gear. He
hurried to catch up with him.
"Where are you going, Gage?" Chet asked, snickering
as Johnny jumped at his voice.
"For once in your life, Chet, you were right. They may still
be alive, and I’ve got to go see what I can do."
"Can I get that in writing?" Chet smiled. Johnny turned and gave Chet a ‘not now’ look. Chet cleared his throat, "Look, let me get my gear on and we’ll go together."
"That’ll be a first," Johnny grinned pulling on one of his gloves.
"Won’t it though? To bad there isn’t anyone here to witness it." Chet pulled on his coat.
~*~
"Where's Chet?" Marco asked as he approached Captain
Stanley and Mike Stoker.
"We sent him into the tent with Roy." Stanley groaned
and held his aching back. He hadn't had a break in hours, and he
could think of better ways to spend it.
"I was just in there, and he’s not there," Marco informed them.
"Maybe they sent him on over to the hospital," Mike said, hopefully.
"I don’t think any ambulances have left, and I don’t see him in there."
"Maybe Roy let him use the bathroom," Stanley said. Both men nodded understanding and the three went into the medical tent. Roy walked in on the opposite side. Captain Stanley stepped up to his paramedic. "How’s Chet?"
"I’m just going over to treat him now," Roy told him. The three men followed him to a vacant chair. "This is where I left him, Cap."
"Could he have gone to the port-a-potty?" Stanley asked.
"Possibly, let’s go check." The four men left the medical tent in search of the wayward firefighter. Captain Stanley had a sinking fear in the pit of his stomach that he didn’t want to address, but when Mike addressed it, he knew.
"Would he have gone back out?"
"I would hope he’s not that stupid," Stanley said. They stepped over to the Chief of operations and waited for him to get off of the HT.
"I don’t care, that old man has to leave. Arrest him, or hog tie him, or what ever you have to do, but I want him out, is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," the response came through the speaker. He set his HT down on the table and looked at a map. He picked up the HT and clicked the button. "Battalion 145."
"Yeah, Frank."
"What’s it look like over in your sector?"
"Bad, we’ve had several casualties and we’re not making any progress."
"Do you need to pull out, Sherman?"
"No, I think we’ll be okay, for now. We’ve got a water drop coming, and I’ll be able to give you a better up date then."
"Okay, I’ll talk with you in a few then, Battalion Chief out." He looked up at the men standing in front of his table. "Where do you men want to go?"
"We just came in, sir. I’m missing one of my men and I was wondering if he had gone back out with another crew."
"Were would he have gone?"
"We just returned from sector 10," Stanley explained. "He may have gone back there." The Chief looked down at his map for orientation. Nodding his understanding, he continued.
"Oh, that’s where we had the fire jump the interstate. That was bad. Still haven’t gotten the casualty counts. I just sent a crew out, let me check with them." He picked up his HT. "Detail 23."
"Detail 23 here."
"I’m looking for a firefighter," he waved the name out of Captain Stanley.
"Chet Kelly."
"Chet Kelly." There was a long pause.
"Yeah, Chief he’s here." An audible gasp could be heard from the members of Station 51. They had only just returned from that sector, and they had already lost several firefighters there.
"That was all I needed to know, thank you 23, Chief out."
"23 out."
"I’m sorry, Captain, but we need all the men we can
get. We need to get a handle on that area before it spreads any
further, I won’t be calling them back," the chief
responded. Captain Stanley visibly paled at the news. He finally
found his voice and addressed the Chief.
"Thanks, Chief. How long before the next detail heads out?"
"About twenty minutes." Captain Stanley turned and
started to head back to the resting area.
"Sir, please let us know when that detail is ready to go. We
would all like to be a part of it." He continued towards his
destination. Following their captain's lead, the remaining crew
walked away.
"Will do, Captain." He picked up his HT as the men walked away. Roy glanced around the compound looking for his partner. He leaned over to Marco.
"Marco, have you seen Johnny?" Marco shook his head. Mike over heard the question.
"Johnny was arguing with Cap about going back up to help the firefighters. That’s the last I saw of him." Realization dawned on Roy. No telling what was going through his partner's head, but he knew it wasn't the fire and that was dangerous for everyone.
~*~
The smoke was thick and the heat was unbelievable. Chet was
frantically trying to pull a firefighter up onto his shoulder.
Johnny wanted to believe that Chet was right, but from the looks
of the surrounding area that wasn’t going to be the case. He
walked over to the captain on the ground and felt for a pulse.
Unfortunately, he was dead. Johnny walked somberly over to help
Chet who was struggling with the firefighter.
"Chet, it's too late. We can’t help them." Chet's
eyes were wild as he turned to face Johnny.
"NO! They're alive! I felt a pulse. I heard them breathing," hoping to convince the dark haired paramedic. He grabbed Chet's arm,
"Chet, there isn't anything we can do for them. You have
to let them go." Chet’s countenance fell. Johnny helped
him lay the burned corpse back on the ground.
"It’s my fault." Johnny looked at the anguished
fireman.
"It’s not your fault, Chet. You did everything you
could."
"Leave me alone, Gage," the Irishman snapped. "You
weren’t here. You don't even know what happened."
Johnny saw Chet’s eyes go distant with remembrance, before
he turned away. "The screams, the cries for help, the wall
of fire that came out of no where."
"But Chet, you forget, I know you and I know you did
everything humanly possible," his encouragement was cut off
by a yell that came echoing through the forest. They immediately
jumped into action and ran in the direction of the shouting. They
broke through a clearing and saw a group of firefighters
frantically digging a new firebreak as a red haze glimmered on
the horizon. "The wind must have shifted," muttered
Johnny.
"We didn't bring any other gear with us," said Chet,
"and I didn't see any extra shovels."
"I saw a couple back there," Johnny motioned to the
clearing from which they had come. "I’ll run back to
get them, you tell the captain." He ran back to the area
they had just come from. They moved to the end of the line, when
Johnny returned with the equipment, and began digging with the
others.
"We haven't got much time left!" yelled the Captain.
"I've requested an air drop to give us some time. Get ready!"
~*~
"Did you get the directions?" Roy asked anxiously,
as Mike raced up to him.
"Yeah, Chief Loomis gave them to me." Mike handed him a
paper liberally covered with soot and sloppy handwriting.
"So it's just going to be us?" Roy asked, trying to
decipher the handwriting.
"Yes, they need every firefighter they can get," the
engineer replied.
"Then let's go," Roy said with determination. He led
the way to the car and marveled again over how lucky they had
been to find any sort of transportation out of this hellhole. As
he fumbled with the keys, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I drive," Mike smiled at him, and held out his hand.
The paramedic sighed. So, this was how Johnny felt most of the
time. Roy toyed with the idea of arguing with him, but knew that
there wasn't time, and surrendered the keys.
~*~
At the assignment tent, Hank and Marco waited with their own anxiety as they listened to the reports coming over the radio. There had already been two water drops over the area where Johnny and Chet were supposed to be, but the captain of the detail had still not responded with a status report. Suddenly, Marco yelled and pointed.
"Cap, look." A truck pulled up to the medical tent.
Cap set his face in stone as he watched the two blanket-draped
stretchers slowly taken off the truck with the greatest of care.
The coldness that gripped his heart quickly melted, however, when
he recognized the two tired figures that exited the truck
immediately afterwards.
"Chet, Johnny." The two men flinched at the sound of
their angry Captain’s voice. He pointed at them to follow
and without a word, they followed him silently across the staging
area. When they came to a place that was empty enough, Cap turned
around and unleashed a torrent of words on the silent men. Marco
flinched in sympathy from some distance away, not daring to
interfere. When he finished, he fixed Chet and Johnny with a
steely gaze.
"Cap?" Kelly finally got up the nerve to whisper. Hank
turned away.
"Don't ever do that to me again." Johnny cleared his throat.
"How's Noira?" Marco and Cap looked at each other.
"She's not out of the woods yet," Marco said. "But
she did come to long enough to tell us about your son."
"My son!" Johnny ripped off his helmet and shook his
head at the words. "My son?" he repeated weakly.
"You didn't know?" Chet asked, sympathetically. Johnny
sighed.
"I did know, Chet, but Joey is not my son." The paramedic suddenly found his feet very interesting. "My dad and my mom…" he really didn’t want to go into detail about his family right now, but it was unavoidable. "Noira was young," he paused. "There wasn't any excuse for what happened." Johnny turned and hid his face against the closest pine tree. Cap put his hand on Johnny's shoulder.
"Well, these things happen."
"Not in my family, they don’t!" Johnny turned to
look at the men around him. "Joey is not my son," he
paused. Not sure that he wanted to reveal the truth, he plowed on,
knowing that if anyone would understand, it would be these men
that he would give his life for. "He’s my brother,"
he whispered, dropping his head in shame. An audible intake of
air was heard from them.
~*~
Mike and Roy traveled in silence. Both were listening intently
to the radio. "Station 24 and Georgia 16, fire reported on
Old Middleburg Road and State Road 318."
"10-4 Dispatch" Roy looked down at the directions in
his hand.
"This can't be happening."
"What is it Roy?" Mike asked. Roy didn't respond
immediately. He remained intent on the directions on his hand. He
looked up at Mike and with new urgency in his voice.
"Mike you need to hurry, Noira's house is three blocks from there." The road was packed with people fleeing their homes. Others were desperately watering down their rooftops. Mike maneuvered the car in and out of traffic hoping that they would make it to the house on time. The fire vehicles right behind them. Mike pulled over and let them pass. Once the engines had passed, Mike and Roy could see the trouble spot ahead. Flames licked the sky up ahead. The fire was growing higher with each passing second. They both let out small gasps.
~*~
At the hospital, Noira's condition continued to worsen. The doctor came in to check her condition. He made a few notations on the chart and walked out. Noira opened her eyes and looked around. It’s so hard to breathe. I'm so tired. She wanted to go back to sleep, but an alarming thought ran through her brain. Joey! She began to struggle against the tubes and wires that were attached to her body. The head nurse walked by the room and noticed the patient's restlessness.
"Whoa there. You need to calm down," she said,
gently pushing Noira back down.
"No, I have to get my son. I have to get Joey," Noira
protested weakly.
"No, you need to rest. We've sent someone for Joey,"
she comforted. "On the way in, you said something about him
being a John Gage's son, didn't you?" Noira looked up at the
nurse with questioning eyes, "Do you know Johnny?"
"No," the nurse told her.
"He’s a volunteer firefighter/paramedic from LA, here to help with the fires." Noira glanced around at all the equipment. Then she looked back at the nurse. "Will you tell John something for me, in case I don't make it?" The nurse patted her hand,
"Don’t worry, you’ll make it."
"Well, in case I don’t, please, tell him that Joey thinks he is his dad." She took a deep breath and winced at the pain. "I thought it would be easier that way." The nurse looked at her a little confused.
"You mean Johnny is not Joey's father?"
"Actually, Johnny is his brother. I had an affair with his
father when I was fifteen." Noira's eyes took on a faraway
look. "It tore Johnny's family apart for a long time. I don't
think Johnny ever forgave his father for it. That's why he moved
to California. He wanted to get as far away as he could. He was
ashamed of his father, of me, and angry that we had hurt his
mother."
"Then why did you tell your son that Johnny was his father?"
Tears came to Noira's eyes as she replied softly,
"I guess because I wished he was," she paused, trying to draw a breath into her seared lungs. "I always loved Johnny but..." At first the nurse thought the young woman was pausing again. It only took a moment longer before she realized Noira was struggling unsuccessfully to breathe. She pushed the alarm and began CPR.
"Come on Noira, don't check out on us now. You've got two guys I think you need to do a lot of explaining to..."
~*~
Chet, Marco, and the captain were unsure of what they should say to their friend. They'd all met Noira; she was a couple of years younger than Johnny was. They didn’t know the exact details, and from Johnny’s reaction, they really didn’t want to know the details. Hank spoke first.
"John, you know if there's anything we can do to help..." Chet and Marco nodded in agreement. Johnny looked at his friends, able only to summon a trace of a smile.
"I know. Thanks."
~*~
Mike and Roy watched as flames leapt to the roof of the house they were seeking. If anyone was still in there… Pushing through the crowd of panicked residents and harried firefighters they made their way toward the structure only to be halted just short of the front door by one of the Florida firefighters.
"You can't go in there!" he yelled.
"We have to find a small boy who lives here. His mother has
been injured." The firefighter shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Captain’s orders." Behind him the roof collapsed in on the house to punctuate his words. Roy and Mike watched in horror. As the two men backed to a safer distance, Roy watched in mute anguish as flames consumed the structure. Mike turned away, looking anywhere but the house. Across the street, standing nearly hidden by one of the engines, he spotted a young boy. The resemblance was uncanny. Mike nudged Roy with his elbow.
"Roy," Mike didn’t even have to finish the
statement. Roy followed the direction the engineer pointed and
quickly spotted the boy. Watching for the cars of fleeing
residents they quickly approached the youth. He was about 9 to 10
years old, soot covered and watching the destruction of his home
through fear-filled eyes.
"Joey?" Roy asked. The boy eyed the strangers warily.
"Joey, your mother sent us to find you." Roy continued.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Mike answered
this time.
"We're firemen from California, we came to help with the fires. Your mom sent us to get you." His little brown eyes grew wider.
"Mom's hurt, isn't she?" Roy nodded, wanting to protect the boy from the truth but knowing that would be impossible.
"Yes, she was. She's at the hospital now and she asked us to get you. My name's Roy DeSoto and this is Mike Stoker." Mike nodded as Roy continued. "She wanted us to take you to your father while she's in the hospital." Joey's expression changed to one of confusion.
"My father? He's here too?" It was Roy's turn to nod.
"Yes, he came with us too." He reached for the boy's
hand as he looked around the neighborhood. "Now we better go.
It's getting -"
"No!" Joey yelled, pulling away from Roy. "I won't
go with you! Not if you're taking me to my father!"
"But Joey, "Mike tried to calm the boy.
"No! I won't go to him. He ran off and left Mom and I HATE
HIM!"
" Joey stay here " Stoker shouted. Joey ran blindly into the arms of another woman.
~*~
"Let me go find out where they're sending us," Hank took a deep breath and turned toward the command tent. He walked in just in time to hear Chief McConnikee discussing the fire lines with Chief Thompson.
"We have three more fires reported up here to the North." Chief Thompson glanced back and saw Hank. "Oh, Captain Stanley. Please come in. This concerns you too." Chief McConnikee pointed to the map.
"Hey, Chief. It looks like we should put all of our reinforcements along this route. Maybe we could get a handle on it from there." Chief Thompson shook his head.
"I wish it were that simple. We got a heavily populated
neighborhood sitting right between these two smaller fires in
Clay County. We have to use the crews there until we get everyone
out." Chief McConnikee nodded in agreement. Chief Thompson
turned to Hank. "Your assignment is to get those people out
safely. We're stretched thin, so don't waste any time. It's
possible those fires will connect. If that happens I want
everyone out."
"Aye, Chief." Hank turned to leave and suddenly thought
to himself. "Excuse me, Chief McConnikee, Chief Thompson. My
engineer is with the crew of 37. Fred Williams is with my crew."
"We'll make a note of that." answered Chief Thompson.
As Captain Stanley walked out of the tent, he heard a frantic
message over the radio. "Command! Georgia 109 needs help!
Send reinforcements!"
"10-4, Georgia 109." Chief Thompson turned to his
fellow chief, "McConnikee, radio Dade County Crew 37. Tell
them their new assignment is State Road 217 in Flag County."
~*~
This was the first time Roy had flown cross-country, and the
effect flying had on his dreams left him a little unsettled. Boy,
none of it made sense and just trying to figure out who was who
was giving him a headache. It all seemed so real.
He was relieved when the plane finally touch downed. It was time
to concentrate on the fires that brought them all here. After all,
John was the only one with family here, and as he quickly glanced
at his partner, Johnny seemed preoccupied with nothing but the
fires. The crew gathered their belongs and headed for the
terminal. There the commander of the Florida Division Forestry
greeted them.
"Hi Fellas. I am Jack Foster." He extended his hand to Chief McConnikee. "We are so glad you're here. We could sure use the help." Chief McConnikee pumped his hand and replied,
"I'm Chief McConnikee. I brought the best of the best from LA County. We're ready to go, just point us in the direction of the fire." He smiled at the commander. The man's face took on a worried expression as he struggled to return the smile.
"Sir, we've got fire in every direction." The men
from California all exchanged worried glances. "You guys can
head on out to the bus. Some Russian firemen just got in too.
They are gathering their gear over there," he said, pointing
to the luggage carousel across the airport. "Go ahead and
load up. We'll head out in a few minutes."
"Thank you, Mr. Foster." Chief McConnikee turned and
motioned the men to follow him. As they exited the building, they
immediately noticed the heavy smell of smoke that hung in the air,
the little bits of ash that floated on the wind, and the extreme
heat of the afternoon. The trip on the bus was a silent one. Both
teams of firefighters were tired after their long trips. Hank
Stanley sat looking out the window at the terrain.
"Look at all those trees." he whispered to himself. Jack Foster overheard his comment and replied,
"It's all a giant tinderbox." Hank turned towards Ranger Foster and asked,
"How bad is it?" Jack shook his head and replied,
"It's the worst I've seen in my seventeen years on the job. Everything is so dry, and we've got fires popping up everywhere. Plus, we've got a lot of people who are intentionally setting them just to see what will happen." Hank turned back toward the window and whispered to himself,
"Sounds like home. When will people learn?" Roy
looked around the bus. The 15-man crew from Russia seemed
exhausted and quickly nodded off. He could only imagine what
their flight must have been like, if the one from California had
drained him. As they neared the area that would serve as their
temporary home, Roy heard a chuckle escape Marco.
"What's so funny?" Chet asked.
"Take a look at the sign," Marco pointed at a plywood
sign that had been erected just outside of the ‘camp’.
WELCOME TO INFERNO RESORT!
The hottest spot in the South.
Hot showers, AC, and complimentary gourmet meals, served nightly.
ENJOY A SAFE AND HEALTY STAY WITH US!
"From the looks and feel of things, they’re right
about this being the hottest spot in the south," Roy mused.
"Yeah, but I won't bet on any of the other stuff,"
replied Marco, grinning.
"I can do without the complimentary meals, and hot showers,
but boy, I sure will miss the AC," whined Chet. Cap looked
at his men,
"As far as I'm concern let’s do as the sign says, have a safe and healthy stay." The bus drove into the makeshift central command area. All the men filed off the bus towards the dormitory tents. Johnny looked over at Roy,
"Man, I hope I can catch a few winks before we head out."
"Didn't you sleep at all on the plane?" Roy asked
incredulously.
"Nah.... I was too busy thinking." Johnny answered as
he walked ahead of Roy to grab a cot.
"Maybe I should have done more of that myself," Roy
muttered.
~*~
Inside the command tent, Chief McConnikee was discussing the
situation with the local Chiefs of each county. "We have
three more fires just reported in Duval County, and we need
reinforcements down in St. John's." Captain Stanley and
Captain Mikael Pivack listened intently to the conversation.
Suddenly the radio crackled to life on the table, "Command,
this is Jacksonville 32. The fire has jumped Chaffee Road and is
heading for the subdivision. Send reinforcements to our location."
Hank Stanley looked up.
"We're ready to go," Captain Stanley volunteered.
The Chief smiled at him. As the crew of 51 hurriedly began
grabbing their gear, except Roy; he was staring off into space.
Johnny stopped and waved his hand in front of his partner’s
face.
"Earth to Roy... We're moving out." Roy immediately
snapped to attention and scanned the area.
"Oh, sorry, I must have gotten lost in a daydream...say,
is Stoker's sister here?"
"Stoker's sister? Here? Roy, are you all right?" Johnny
eyed Roy. He wondered if he should tell Cap that Roy was acting
weird.
"Yeah, I’m okay, I’m only having these really
weird dreams, daydreams," Roy frowned. "You're sure
Stoker's sister isn't here?"
"No, Stoker's sister is not here. Roy, you sure you're okay?
You're not having a heat stroke or something on me are you?"
Johnny reached to lay his palm on Roy's forehead.
"The flight must have gotten to me. It seemed long."
Roy dodged Johnny's hand and began collecting his gear. "I’m
just getting these weird feelings, that’s all."
"We shouldn't keep Cap waiting," Johnny told him. Roy
headed to where the rest of the crew was waiting. Johnny shook
his head, hoping that it was only the flight, and followed.
"Okay men, here's what we have..." began Captain
Stanley. "A heavy line of fire heading for this subdivision
here." Hank pointed to a location on a wall map that was
dotted with different colored pushpins. "The crews have
pulled back, and are setting up a fire line here." He
pointed to a different area, just East of the first pin. "We'll
be assisting the crews in establishing this fire line, for now.
Obviously, we'd like to stop the fire before it hits the
subdivision. But, we don't want to risk any human life. If the
fire looks like it's spreading too fast, we pull back and let the
homes burn. Don't go anywhere alone, and keep your eyes and ears
open. Gage, DeSoto, although you're paramedics, for now, you'll
function as regular firefighters until the paperwork clears."
Hank looked at his assembled crew. "Any questions?" The
guys shook their heads. "Great," Hank clapped his hands
together and rubbed them briskly. "Let's show them what we're
made of."
~*~
The men watched the passing scenes in quiet awe as the truck made its way to the afflicted subdivision. The road going in was all but abandoned, making it easy going for the firefighters. The opposite road was filled, however, with families fleeing their homes. Cars and trucks were filled with as many possessions as they could hold. Some of the more stubborn residents could be seen on the roofs of their homes, trying to hold off the burning embers with their garden hoses. And rising above all of it, the ever-present smoke grew thicker, the ashes larger. An eerie red light was flickering, even in the daylight. Each of the men took it in, creating memories none of them would ever forget. Roy finally turned to look at Johnny.
"Hey," he questioned tentatively. "Your family... Are they from around here?" Johnny looked past Roy to the window, still fixated on the passing scene.
"Naw. They live in central Florida." Johnny let out a low whistle as he caught a hint of flame out of the corner of his eye. He glanced at Roy for a second. "Are you all right?" he asked. Roy ignored that question to ask his own.
"Do you think we'll run into any of your family?" He
too turned to look out the window. It was obvious they were
getting close to their destination.
"No," Johnny said, distinctly. "None of them..."
his voice died in his throat as the truck came to a stop. As the
firefighters started standing, an unknown man with a handy-talk
stepped up into the truck. He spoke with the driver and then
turned,
"Good Afternoon, men. You have no idea how happy we are to see you. Your duty assignments are..." As the crew of Fifty-one walked with the other volunteers, Marco let out a low whistle.
"Would you look at that?" he asked softly. The men
paused a moment. The fire had obviously come within inches of
consuming everything, but amazingly enough, a soot-covered house
remained untouched. There was only a foot-wide border of green
grass between it and the charred lawn.
"I hope we're up to this." muttered Chet.
~*~
"Roy, are you all right?" came the voice again, this
time more annoyed.
"It’s jet lag..." Roy opened his eyes and looked
around him. "Are we in Florida?"
"Florida?" Johnny asked, from the middle of the DeSoto's
living room. He ran a hand through his slightly graying hair as
he looked down on his friend with worry in his eyes. "I
think your retirement is starting to get to you."
"But what about the fires?" Roy sat up in his recliner.
The former fire chief quickly put a hand to his aching back. He'd
have to remember not to fall asleep in the living room any more.
"Oh, that!" John's face quickly relaxed into
understanding. He reached down and snatched the remote control
from a nearby table, lifting the mute from the television set.
"1998 will be remembered as year of fire in Florida..."
intoned the news anchor over the scenes of destruction that
flashed across the screen. "But it will also be remembered
for the brave men and women who gave of their own time and safety
to help combat the monster that has plagued the state for months
now. From the panhandle to Jacksonville to Miami, residents are
trying to express their gratitude to those courageous
firefighters, but many here say that it will never be enough.
Even now, the fires still rage on in many counties..." John
lowered the volume again as he noticed the rueful expression on
his friend's face.
"I should have known I was dreaming," Roy muttered, not
really noticing if John were listening or not. "All that
bouncing around from Miami to Jacksonville. I think the plane
landed two times!"
"It's hard not being out there to help out, isn't it?"
his friend asked. "Especially with all this new time on your
hands. Believe me, I've thought about it too."
"You know it. It must be like..." Roy's eyes to on a
faraway look.
"I know, man, I know," John said. They stayed there for
a long minute, each man lost in his own thoughts.
"Where are you guys?" Joanne's voice broke into each
man's reverie. She stuck her head into the room. "Come on!
We're going to be late for the Station 51 reunion! We can't keep
family members waiting!" Roy's wife disappeared back down
the hall. With minor difficulty, Roy made it out of the chair, as
Johnny turned the news off and laid down the controls.
"I bet I know what the main topic of conversation is going
to be," muttered Roy, as they made their way to the car.
"It’s in the blood, partner, it’s in the blood."
"Don’t I know it, Junior."
THE END