Rookie
It was my first assignment straight out of the fire academy. I was nervous and excited. I couldn’t wait to get started, but was apprehensive about how I would be accepted. As I walked into the rear entrance of the vehicle bay, I heard voices coming from a room off to the left, so I headed that way.
“You must be McNeil,” I heard a voice, and turned to see a tall dark-haired man, with an easy smile, approaching me with his hand outstretched.
“Yes, sir, Casey McNeil, reporting for duty,” I told him, shaking his hand.
“I’m Hank Stanley. Nice to have you here, McNeil. Come on in, and I’ll introduce you to some of the crew. Our paramedic squad is out on a run right now, so you’ll meet them later.” And with that he led the way into the kitchen, where the others of his crew were gathered around, drinking coffee.
“Hey, guys, I want you to meet our newest firefighter. This is Casey McNeil, recent academy graduate.”He then proceeded to introduce me to the others.
I acknowledged everyone, hoping I’d remember their names. Chet Kelly, stocky build, big bushy mustache. Marco Lopez, Latino, shorter and dark-skinned, friendly eyes. And Mike Stoker, tall, slender, quiet-almost shy. They stared at me, and I waited for the usual comments.
“So, ah, welcome to Station 51,” said Kelly. “You, ah, were in the last graduating class, huh?”
“Duh, Chet,” said Marco. “Didn’t the Cap just say that?”
“I was just making sure,” Kelly whined, glaring at Lopez.
“Never mind him, McNeil, he lives with his foot in his mouth.”
Kelly flashed him another dirty look, then offered me a cup of coffee. I accepted, pleasantly surprised, because it was pretty good coffee. As Kelly walked away after pouring the coffee, I heard him mumbling about “..Cap should have warned us.”
“Chet!” the Cap called, threateningly.
Kelly spun around, “Ah, Cap, I didn’t know you were still here, ah,..coffee Cap?” he stammered, holding up the pot. Lopez was laughing at Kelly’s predicament, Stoker just hid behind his paper.
“Marco, could you show McNeil around the station, and find an empty locker?” Cap asked.
“Sure, Cap,” Lopez said, still chuckling. “C’mon Casey.” I followed him into the locker room. He opened up 3 or 4 lockers before locating an empty one, and I stored my civvies and duffel bag. Then he helped me put my turnout gear on the engine.
As we walked back toward the kitchen, the Rescue Squad backed into the bay. The two men exited the squad, the passenger talking to his partner. “..telling you Roy, I’m gonna do something rash if that man doesn’t keep his nose out of my business.”
“Johnny, just forget it. You know how Brice is, just ignore him.”
The passenger nearly walked right into us, so intent was he on the conversation. He stopped short before he knocked us over. “Marco, who’s your friend?” he asked, with a lopsided grin, his partner walking over to join us.
“Johnny, Roy, this is our new firefighter trainee, Casey McNeil,” Lopez introduced us. “Casey, this is Roy DeSoto and his partner Johnny Gage.”
“You’re our new trainee?!” asked Gage, a shocked look on his face. I braced myself for the comments. Then he smiled, “Have you met Chet Kelly yet?”
“Johnny, don’t start,” DeSoto told him.
“What? I’m just asking..” Johnny began.
“Yeah, I know what you’re just asking. Leave it be.” DeSoto turned toward the kitchen, throwing a “Welcome to Station 51” over his shoulder to me. Gage followed him, still arguing with his partner.
“Are they always like that?” I asked my tour guide.
Lopez chuckled. “You’ll get used to it. They really are good friends. They’ve been working together for 6 years and are two of the best paramedics in the county. You should see them work.”
“I’ll take your word for it. I hope I never need them myself.”
“Yeah, I hear ya.”
We wandered back into the kitchen, just in time to hear Kelly spout off about the fact that the new trainee was..a WOMAN!
I stopped short, gasped, and placed a hand on my chest. Everybody turned their heads to look at me. I stared at the Captain, a look of shock on my face.
“Captain, how could?” I asked him.
“What? What did I do?” he asked, a bit confused.
“You didn’t tell me I was a woman!! How could you forget to tell me something so important?” I asked, sarcastically, which started everyone chuckling. Everyone except Chet Kelly, that is. Kelly did have the courtesy to at least get red in the face.
“Cap, I think firefighter McNeil is going to fit in just fine here,” commented Gage. “She already knows to mess with Kelly every chance she can.”
“That’s not funny, Gage,” Kelly said. “You were surprised she was a woman, too!”
“Yeah, Kelly, you're right, I was surprised,” Gage agreed. “But at least I’m not opposed to the idea,” he finished, winking at me.
“I’m not opposed,” Kelly insisted. “I just said that I figured the Cap would have warn.. I mean told us.”
“The Captain didn’t tell you,” Stanley said, “because the Captain knew it wouldn’t matter. The Captain is confident that the Captain’s crew will accept the new firefighter and give her the chance to prove she can do the job, just the same as any other boot.” He looked around at his men. “Is the Captain clear on this?”
A chorus of “Right, Cap” and “Of, course Cap” answered him.
“You know, Kelly,” said DeSoto, “I thought you would have learned your lesson when Karen was here.”
“Karen?” I asked.
“Karen Overstreet was a female paramedic trainee,” Roy explained. “Kelly tried to give her a rough time when she first got here. Unfortunately for Chet, she bit back.”
“That was different, Roy,” Chet complained.
“Yeah, Roy, that was different,” insisted John Gage. “Chet didn’t have to work with Karen.”
“So how did she do?” I asked.
“She did great,” said Roy. “She saved my life.”
I began to ask for details, but the tones started sounding. A house fire. I got nervous all over again.
“C’mon rookie, let’s go. They’re playing our song,” called Marco, and I followed him out and climbed into the jump seat opposite him on the engine. I was anxious, praying I wouldn’t forget anything that I’d learned at the academy. I needn’t have worried. Captain Stanley wasn’t going to let me do anything I wasn’t ready for.
****
Over the next several weeks, I got a good education in real life firefighting. I mostly did back-up to Kelly and Lopez. After the fourth shift together, Kelly finally quit looking at me like I would break something every time I picked up some heavy equipment. I guess that was progress. At first, these men were a little leery about having a female in their midst, but seemed willing to give me the chance. Their Captain was right. He knew they would let me prove myself and would accept me when they found I could do the job. I respect them for that.
Oh, I got my share of jokes and comments, and I commented right back at them, which I think they enjoyed. There was a little uneasiness that first night, realizing that we had to sleep together in the same room. Kelly was so embarrassed that he undressed under the covers, to the amusement of everyone. I knew I had been accepted completely the night I found my bed short-sheeted, and heard Kelly giggling as I struggled to loosen the sheets.
****
The fire that night was a big one. We could smell the smoke and see the flames from several blocks away. Station 51 was part of the second alarm, and we would help with the search for victims. We donned our air tanks and masks, and I followed Chet and Marco into the building and down a hallway, while Johnny and Roy took the opposite hallway on the same floor.
We checked each room, chalking a big ‘X’ on the door afterward to show that the room had been checked and was clear. I remember drills like this in the academy, but nothing prepares you for the real thing. Smoke can be very disorienting.
The explosion took us all by surprise, knocking us off our feet. The ceiling came crashing down on top of me and everything went black.
I don’t know how long I was out, but when I came to, it took me a moment to remember where I was. I looked around, but couldn’t see anything but smoke. Fear jumped out at me, but then I tried to remember the drills we went through in the academy. I controlled my breathing and swallowed my fear as best I could.
I called out for Chet and Marco, not hearing anything. When I tried to move, a pain shot up my left leg. I looked at the leg and discovered that a large beam was laying across it. A beam too large for me to move by myself. The fear returned, with a vengeance. I frantically began looking around again, hoping to see Kelly or Lopez.. or anyone else for that matter.
I knew my leg was probably broken, and knew I would need help to get out of here. I called again for Chet and Marco, hoping they hadn’t also been hurt. But if they were okay, they should answer me. I had only been a few feet away from them when the building exploded.
I struggled to free my leg, but every time I tried to move it, the pain came back. I was afraid I would pass out again, and didn’t want that. The smoke was getting thicker. I hadn’t thought that was possible. When the building exploded, I thought it might have opened up the building, letting some of the smoke dissipate. Not in this case.
Then, I heard someone calling. I began to yell, to let them know where I was, my voice muffled by my air mask.
“Keep yelling,” the voice answered. “Keep yelling so we can find you.”
“Over here,” I kept repeating. “I’m over here. I can’t move, my leg is pinned.”
Suddenly a firefighter squatted down next to me. “Roy, this way, I found one of them,” the firefighter yelled.
I looked up to see the concerned face of John Gage next to me. “Hang tight, Casey, we’ll have you out of here in no time. Where are Chet and Marco?” he asked.
“I don’t know, they were just a few feet in front of me when the ceiling came down. They should be over closer to the wall,” I said, pointing in the direction I thought they’d be.
Roy had joined us and was studying the beam. He shook his head. “Johnny, I don’t think the two of us are going to be able to lift this up. But let’s give it a try.”
Johnny put a hand on my shoulder, and looked me in the eyes. “Casey, this is gonna hurt.. a lot.. you gonna be okay?”
“Johnny, it hurts a lot already. Just get it off, okay?” He nodded and moved over to help Roy.
They tried, I gotta give them credit, but the beam was just too heavy. Johnny came back over to me.
“Casey, we’re gonna look around and see if we can find the others. If they’re not hurt too badly, they might be able to help us get this beam off you. Otherwise, we’re going to have to go get some help. Give a yell if you need me, alright? And try to relax your breathing. You need to conserve the air in your tank.” I nodded that I understood, and laid back.
Johnny and Roy disappeared into the smoke. Damn, how could they find anything in this mess? I began to get frightened again, afraid they wouldn’t be able to find their way back to me. Then I remembered Johnny’s admonition to relax my breathing. I certainly didn’t want to run out of air. I could hear Roy yelling for Chet and Marco, and thought I heard a faint response.
A couple of minutes later, Gage returned with Marco in tow, his arm tucked into his turnout coat. Johnny helped him get settled in next to me, then headed back to search for Kelly.
Marco asked if I was okay, and I explained the situation with the beam. He had injured his shoulder and seemed to be in a lot of pain. A few minutes later, I saw one of them walk toward me, carrying someone over their shoulder. It must have been Chet. As they got closer, I saw that it was Chet, draped over Johnny’s shoulder.
Roy squatted down next to me again. “Casey, Johnny and I are going to take these two outside. We’ll bring back some help to get this beam off you. We won’t be gone long. Okay?”
I know I must have looked very scared at that point, because I was. We knew the flames were starting to come through the floor down the hall. I didn’t want to be left alone in here. What if they couldn’t find their way back through the smoke?! What if the fire wouldn’t let them back in here?!
I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over at Marco. I remembered him telling me that these were two of the best paramedics in the county. I glanced back at Roy and realized that they wouldn’t just leave me here. He and Johnny would find their way back. They had done this hundreds of times before. I had listened to the stories over the last several weeks, of some of the difficult rescues they’d had. I nodded at Roy, ready to trust my life to him. He patted my on arm, then went to Marco and helped him up. They followed Johnny and Chet out the door.
I felt very alone, surrounded by the smoke, so thick now that I couldn’t even seen the beam that pinned me down. After their footsteps died away, I was able to hear the roar of the fire, and tried hard not to think about how close it was. Control your breathing, control your breathing, I kept thinking.
I heard several more, smaller explosions, further away. Good, just stay far away. One thing I don’t need right now is another explosion. I tried not to think about how long it was taking. I knew that in situations like this, time moved very slowly. I knew that, but it didn’t seem to help. My mind kept screaming, “hurry up, damn it, hurry up” and my body just wanted to get up and go, but it couldn’t. I began to wonder if this is what it felt like to be an animal stuck in a trap. C’mon Johnny! Where are you, Roy!?
Then, I heard voices. Was that them? Oh, please hurry! Yes, there they are. Thank God. I saw six of them. They hurried over to where I lay, and in no time had me free. One of them, I don’t know who, draped me over his shoulder, and we started out of the building.
I must have passed out again, because the next thing I remember seeing was clear blue sky above me. Then a face leaned over me, blocking out the view. I wanted to scream, get out of the way, can’t you see I’m enjoying the sunshine!
But I recognized the lopsided grin of John Gage. “Well, it’s about time,” he said, shining a light into my eyes. “Here, we traipsed all the way back into a burning building to pull our hero routine, and you go and pass out on us. Geez, how inconsiderate.”
I started to laughed, but end up coughing. Concerned, he checked the oxygen mask over my face, then takes my pulse. Then he turns and speaks to Roy, who’s on the phone with the hospital. I reached up to removed the mask, and ask about Chet & Marco.
Johnny frowned at me, grabbing my hand away, and replaced the mask. He assured me that my partners were fine, and already on their way to Rampart. “Now be a good patient and let me do my job!”
I started to sit up and he gently, but firmly pushed me back down. “Do you want me to ask the doc for a sedative for you?” he asked, not very happy with my movements. “Damn, why are firefighters such lousy victims?” he mumbled. “Stay still woman, or I’ll knock you back unconscious.”
They loaded me onto a stretcher. I started to protest that I could walk, but one look from Gage shut me up. I didn’t want to hear any more arguments. I don’t remember too much of the ride to the hospital, but I do remember the bright lights in the examination room.
Then this really nice looking guy leaned over me, and introduced himself as Dr. Brackett. I felt someone lift up my right arm, and put esomething around it. I looked over and saw a very pretty, blond nurse, getting ready to take my blood pressure. She fit the description the guys gave of Dixie McCall.
Brackett and McCall. Roy and Johnny talked about them all the time, and it was always about how great they are. I figured I was lucky that they’d be the ones taking care of me. I heard Johnny telling the doctor my name and remarking about how uncooperative I’ve been. But when I looked up, he had that smile in place, so I know he was only joking.
“Case, I’m gonna go check on Marco and Chet. You’re in good hands here. These two are the best. We’ll be back later to see how you’re doing.”
I only nod and watch him leave the room. Dixie told me she’s glad to finally see a female firefighter, but also tells me that she thinks I’m crazy. “But then,” she said with a wink “I think the boys are crazy for wanting to do this job, too. But I sure am glad they do it.”
I closed my eyes and relaxed. If they’re joking around with me, I must not be in too bad a shape. Dr. Brackett checked my leg, poking it gently, making me wince.
“Looks like you broke it good there, Casey,” he told me. “Dix, let’s get the x-ray techs in here for a little photo session, and get Dr. Spencer down to take a look.” Brackett came back up to my side, and leaned over me. “Casey, you may need some surgery on that leg. As soon as we get the x-rays back, I’m going to have the orthopedic surgeon take a look and see what he thinks. You just relax for a few minutes.”
****
Later that night, I was finally in a room. Surgery wasn’t necessary after all, but I was going to stay in the hospital for a few days. I heard a noise, and looked over to see Roy, Johnny and Captain Stanley enter my room. My folks had been in earlier, and were downstairs getting some dinner.
The guys had been in to check on Lopez and Kelly. Chet had a concussion, but no broken bones. Marco had separated his shoulder, ane both would be here overnight, but would be just fine.
I started to thank Roy and Johnny for getting me out, but Roy just raised his hands, stopping me.
“Casey, that’s our job. We’re a team. You don’t think we’d let our newest team member get killed in her first month on the job, do you?”
“Really, McNeil, I mean, how would that look at headquarters?” remarked Stanley.
“Not to mention, it’d be a pain in the butt to have to put that on the log,” added Gage. “Damn, Roy, you know she has been very uncooperative today, not to mention inconsiderate.”
“Yeah, Cap,” Roy said, turning to Stanley, “she really was a pain after we got her out of that building. Can we trade her in on a less bull-headed model?” I saw Roy trying to smother his smile.
“Naw, I think we’ll keep this one. A little hard-headedness is a good think in firefighter. Besides, who else are we gonna get to keep Chet in line?”
John & Roy looked at each other, shrugged, then nodded. “Okay, Cap, if you insist, but maybe some remedial training would be in order. I mean, she does need to learn a little hero worship here,” demanded Roy.
They bantered back and forth between themselves as they turned and walked out of the room, without so much as a goodbye. The door closed behind them. After a few seconds, Johnny poked his head back in the room. “Take it easy, Case. Talk to ya later,” he called, Roy and the Captain waving from behind him. “And Welcome to Station 51. You’re finally a full-fledged member, now that you’ve made your first trip to Rampart. Hope you don’t regret it!” He closed they door again and I heard them walk down the hall.
Regret it? No, I don’t think so! I don’t think I’ll regret it in the least. It’s exactly what I always dreamed it would be. And more. I laid my head back on the pillow and smiled. I felt liked I’d found a home.
********
"Rookie" ©1999 Pat 'Charli' Charleville. "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction, and any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.
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