The chief called out orders to Ace and Eddie.
“You two begin on the roof, we need some controlled ventilation before I can send Tyler and Bull in search and rescue.”
Ace and Eddie grabbed the gas-powered chain saw, preparing to climb the ladder to begin working on the fire from the roof. Tyler and Bull waited to enter, grabbing a thermal digital camera to use if necessary, while Lance and Marcus prepared the hose for their water supply to put out the fire and enter by the side door of the home. Now red, orange, and black flames covered the entire right side of the home. The smoke was thick and changing from gray to black then covering the clear night sky.
“Bull, Eddie, you two go in, do a sweep of the house B side, search and rescue. The neighbor said two adults and one child occupied the home. No one has seen them. Hollywood, Bear, and Nate will follow,” Chief Martelli told the firefighters.
Tyler got that instant pain in the pit of his stomach, the thought of someone trapped in the heat, smoke, and fire sent a terrible feeling through his whole body. Then the adrenaline kicked in, the rush to search, find, and rescue the victims.
The chief took Tyler’s and Bull’s red tags from their turnout coats, a procedure required before entering a fire.
“Be smart, Godspeed,” the chief stated, and they nodded. Every fire was dangerous, and there was always that fear that they wouldn’t make it out alive. But Tyler didn’t focus on that. He focused on the people trapped inside. He and Bull would find them. That was their mission.
Tyler noted he and Bull’s place of entry on the side of the house. They placed their masks in position over their face and checked their valves one final time. The fire had not spread that far yet. Hollywood, Bear, and Nate Hawkins the probie, were seconds behind them pulling the two-and-a-half-inch hose with them between two parked cars in the driveway. All the firefighters were dressed in full gear. They could see the smoke inside the house through the pane of glass on the side door, it was thick and Tyler wondered where the family could be. The house was large and the custom design would surely throw them for a loop as they tried to conduct a search.
The side door remained locked. Tyler waited for the “okay to enter” by the chief once the roof men made their incision and provided ventilation of the fire. The chief radioed in and a second later, Tyler kicked in the door. Tyler and Bull entered the smoke-filled laundry room.
A short hallway led to a wooden slotted door, there was smoke everywhere. Cautiously, they moved forward.
Bull opened the door and the thickness of the smoke instantly hit them. Tyler adjusted his breathing mask. The fire was spreading fast and they needed to hurry.
“Firefighters. We’re here to help. Firefighters!” they called out, identifying themselves as they pushed through toys and furniture. They were in a playroom. Bull headed toward the staircase. The bedrooms were upstairs and the fire was moving toward the hallway.
“Help us!”
Tyler saw a man and a woman, they were frantic, covered in black soot and coughing as they made their way through the smoke.
“This way, come on!” Tyler yelled, taking the woman by the hand.
“Our boy! We can’t find Kevin!” the mother screamed, tears streaming down her blackened cheeks.
Bull joined Tyler by the stairs. Tyler radioed it in.
“Where are the bedrooms?” Tyler asked the parents and they told them. “Up the stairs and to the left.”
“I’m here!” Hollywood yelled as he approached the stairs.
“The parents, can you get them out? I will help Bull search for the son. The boy must be hiding.”
Hollywood told the parents to follow him. He led them through the smoke and heat to two other firefighters and to the safety of the outside. Hollywood returned, helping Bear and Nate pull the hose through the laundry room.
* * * *
Outside, Ice had Lance and Marcus, hosing down the right side of the house to contain the fire and provide more time for Bull and Tyler to search for the boy. The others were making their way to the top of the house where the fire was building. They continued to try to stop the fire from spreading any further. The fire from the right side of the house began to extend through the playroom. In seconds, the fire reached past the staircase that led upstairs and to the laundry room where the firefighters had entered only moments ago.
There was thick smoke and flames coming toward Hollywood, Bear, and Nate. They radioed in, informing their lieutenant of the status of the fire. They began to spray the hose, putting out the fire just as it feasted on hanging coats, clothing and other flammable material in its path. The fire roared ferociously and extended through the laundry room. Hollywood and Bear held the hose tight and continued to spray the bursts of red and orange, as Nate pulled what he could that was combustible out of the line of fire.
* * * *
Ace and Eddie cautiously walked on top of the roof. The red and orange flames shot up from the top peak of the roof on the right side where they had made the first incision with the powered chain saw. At this point, the fire was craving more oxygen and the side windows began to shatter. Ace and Eddie knew that they needed to provide some more controlled ventilation. Eddie called it in to the chief.
“Chief, it’s getting worse up here. We need to make another cut. Where is search and rescue?”
“Go ahead, Eddie. I’ll find a location and status on search and rescue.”
“Bull! What’s your position?” the chief radioed to him and Tyler.
“Hallway, no sign of the kid yet. Two more bedrooms to search,” Bull responded.
The chief then radioed Eddie giving him an update.
* * * *
The thick black smoke engulfed Eddie and Ace as they used their skills and training to make a hole in the roof. Eddie restarted the gasoline-powered chain saw. The sound echoed through the night air as the blades made contact with the roofing shingles. Pieces spit up and around them but he was determined to make the incision and give his fellow firefighters, his friends, more time to search and rescue the missing family members.
Ace tore at the slices of material with his Halligan tool, pulling pieces of shingle and plywood, trying to make a hole large enough to spray water through.
* * * *
Tyler and Bull slowly made their way up the stairs ducking together as the ceiling filled with an ocean of flames. Black smoke started making its way from the attic and the right side of the house to the center where they now stood. Tyler and Bull searched the rooms to the left. Tyler noted that the window might be their only means of escape.
He eyed the fancy tapestry and loads of magazines and newspapers that covered the whole sidewall of the living room. The fire was only feet away from igniting the paper material.
Tyler called into the radio to Hollywood, Bear, and Nate.
“We need that hose up here. The fire is spreading fast.”
“We just got the laundry room and furnace area wet down, these people have filled gasoline containers down here. We’re moving them out,” Hollywood responded.
Tyler realized that Hollywood, Bear, and Nate had their own problems. They would not want the fire to get a hold of any filled containers of gasoline. That could kill all of them.
Together Tyler and Bull searched and moved down the small, enclosed hallway. Bull was just ahead of him.
They continued to look around. Bull headed toward the first room, Tyler toward the second right next door. They were running out of time. Tyler could hear the water spreading against the house. The crew was trying to put the fire out, giving Tyler and Bull more time to search. They heard what sounded like large objects crashing and pounding to the floor. Simultaneously, Tyler felt the rush of heat, then saw flames spreading down the hallway. Tyler knew that the stacks of magazines and newspapers were igniting and the sound had to be the towers of magazines crashing to the floor.
He called out to Bull just as the wallpaper and the hallway carpeting went up in flames. Smoke was everywhere. Tyler felt the need to escape, to hurry up and search these last rooms and then get out before they were trapped inside. He looked at Bull and they continued to search.
“We’ve got to move it. The fire will spread this way and we’re going out the window,” Bull stated.
“I’ll check this room. You take the other. Call on the radio and we’ll meet out the window if we get trapped,” Tyler stated. Bull was already headed into the last bedroom.
* * * *
Bull entered the room, searching with his hands, moving the mattress off the bed and thinking of all the possible hiding spots a kid could think of. He pulled the Thermo Imaging Camera from the clip and turned it on. He slowly pointed it forward while making a slow circular direction around the room.
The bed was empty and the corner was, too. The camera indicated a heat pattern coming from inside the closet. Bull immediately opened the closet, pushing aside clothing on hangers and anything that would cover a small child.
Then Bull saw a movement and thought he heard a scream.
Frantically Bull pushed the boxes to the side. The small child sat curled up in a ball. He held on to the poles in the closet for life. Bull instantly knew his appearance had frightened him, but they needed to hurry.
Bull reached for the child, but he would not budge.
“It’s okay, kid, I’m here to help you, come on.” Bull reached for him again and the kid held tighter.