SpazTheButcher
The Warrior-Poet
Ray had been driving down the road for a while now, nothing particular driving him, and no destination in mind. The radio was cranked up, and the song playing was “The End”, by The Doors. It was about 9:30 pm when his phone buzzed and chimed with the old fire alert. Ray pulled over and fumbled with it, reading the message. STRUCTURAL FIRE, 213 HARDING AVE, ENGINES 52 and 51, MEDICAL 302, AND LADDER 45 RESPONDING. Ray knew the location, and he stepped on the gas. As Ray arrived on the scene he was greeted by police cars, cones, and tape blocking both ends of the road. He pulled over and grabbed bunker gear from the trunk of his car. He pulled on his boots, pants, jacket, and plopped his helmet onto his head.
He walked past the cops and approached the Captain, who was directing the Engines and Ladder truck to the nearest hydrants, and it wasn’t until now that Ray looked at the building. It was a 6 story apartment complex, the top floor being engulfed in flames and the lower floors being flashed with the red and white lights from the trucks. The Captain saw Ray immediately and yelled towards him. “Grab an SCBA(Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) and see the El Tee!”
Ray ran towards Engine 52 and opened up the side compartment, pulling on the bottle and letting the airflow into his mask. He walked over to where a few other guys were gathering near the pumps operator’s station and clipped his ID to a chain, alongside six others.
The engineer on duty nodded towards him, and Ray gathered with the other six guys wearing bottles, the Lieutenant already laying down the plan, “The guys on 51 and 45 were gracious enough today to stay out here in the relatively safe position of pumping water,” two guys chuckled, “So, that means we get the grunt work. Ramirez and Johnson, you two evacuate the first two floors, working up. Phillips and I will get the next two, working down. Ray, Rodgers, and Chunks. You guys got the top floors, we think there may be one or two people left up there. Once we clear our sections, we’ll rally with you guys. Got it? Let’s roll boys.” Everyone nodded, and Ray looked over at Rodgers and the man they called Chunks. He still didn’t get the nickname, but that was for a later time. Rodgers and Chunks grabbed a skyline kit, and Ray grabbed the halligan and ax, which were strapped together.
Ray was happy that he wasn’t carrying the skyline kit, which was everything they needed for “interior firefighting”. In most large buildings, there are water pumps in the center that in the event of a fire, a department can hook up to and fight the fire from inside. Ramirez’s team and the Lieutenant's team were already inside, so Ray put a chock in the door behind them to keep the fire from being fed air. They clamored up the first four flights of stairs, and by the time they hit the 5th floor, Ray was winded. He tried the door, and surprise surprise, it was locked. Ray put the ax down and put the halligan between him and the door. Ray put his weight into it and the door opened up, hot air rushing into Ray’s face.
Ray’s radio chirped in the background as he began calling out, “Fire Department, call out if you hear us,” while Chunks and Rodgers set up the hoses. From the third door on the right, a young man came rushing out, and Ray sent him downstairs. “One coming out”, he said into his radio. After he checked on all the rooms, he called out to Rodgers, “You guys set up down there?”
“Yessir.” Chunks said, coming down the hall with a hose over their shoulders and extinguishers in free hands. Ray grabbed an extinguisher, a halligan, and his ax as they went to the top floor. They nodded to him and Ray cracked open the door, the temperature significantly hotter. The back half of the floor was filled with flames, while the rooms closer were filled with smoke.
“Fire department, call out if you hear us!” As Ray flicked on his helmet and survival light,
Chunks and Rodgers opened up the nozzle and water doused the flames closest to them. Help. The voice was muffled, but Ray swore he heard the word. “Is anybody in here?”
“Help!” The words were barely audible, but Ray could tell where they were coming from… the far side of the building.
“Let’s go guys!” They fought back the fire, moving towards the voice as it continued to call out. “Listen, keep talking to us, we’re coming for you, alright?”
“The flames, they’re getting closer! Please help me!”
“Just remain calm, okay? We’ll get you out of here.” Ray found the apartment where the yells were coming from, and hit the burning door with his ax, chopping at it until they could get through. The room was seemingly covered in a thin sheet of flames, with the kitchen counter, the walls, and the couch all burning. He used the extinguisher to make a path through the room and came upon the bedroom, where the bed was covered in flames and he found the victim. “We’ll get you out of here okay!” As he approached the woman though, he noticed her left arm and leg were covered in deep burns and she was now unresponsive. “Damn!” he spoke into his radio, “Cap, this is Ray, we have a female, mid-twenties, unconscious and covered in burns. Bringing her down.”
“Advise Ray the building is burning up by the minute, grab her, and evac immediately.”
Ray put his radio onto its strap and picked up the girl with her arms over his left shoulder and her legs over his right. Chunks and Rodgers were clearing the way until the water stopped flowing. They both fumbled with the nozzle, and couldn’t get the hose to work. Chunks grabbed the halligan and ax and Rodgers grabbed the extinguisher, and the second they entered the hallway they found the problem. The walls of the hallway were covered in flames, and the floor was only slightly better. The hose must’ve caught on fire and was now spitting water everywhere and was flooding the floor. The water made a small pathway through the fire, and the darkness created by the smoke was cut by Ray’s helmet light and survival light.
Rodgers used the extinguisher to clear a path through the fire, with Ray in the middle and Chunks bringing up the rear. They got to the door to the stairs, but then there was a crash, and Ray spun around to find Chunks trapped under a collapsed and burning part of the ceiling. Rodgers ran to his side and tried to lift the main pillar pinning him down, while the trapped man screamed in pain. As Rodgers tried to free him, Chunks' SCBA bottle began making a noise familiar to any firefighter: the steady beeps of an SCBA alarm, alerting anyone in the vicinity of a firefighter who isn’t moving. Ray tried to click his radio to alert the Captain, but Rodgers beat him to it. “We got a man down on the top floor! We need guys up here stat!”
“No can do Rodgers, we evaced the building, you guys need to get out of there. Or that rescue is going to turn into a recovery.”
Rodgers swore. “I’ll get Chunks out. You get her out of here Ray.” Ray was too busy to argue and entered the staircase. The two floors below him were burning, and Ray darkly thought about how he was in the middle of a burning sandwich. As if to inform him that his luck had run dry, Ray's SCBA bottle beeped. Ray put the girl down, propping her against the wall, and checked his bottle’s pressure. 5 minutes. He picked her back up and tried to go down the stairs, but the flames raged and he was forced into the fourth floor’s hallway. He set her down and looked around, trying to think of a way to escape. As he tried to come up with a plan and looked about, he noticed water running down his helmet’s visor. Ray looked up to see a small hole in the ceiling leaking water, and before he could react, the floor above burst like a balloon and collapsed on top of him. Ray, now pinned, looked down at his chest, and was surprised to find that the pain in his chest was from a pillar that had impaled him. Somewhere in the background as his vision began to fade to black, Ray heard the SCBA chime, now multiplied by three.
He walked past the cops and approached the Captain, who was directing the Engines and Ladder truck to the nearest hydrants, and it wasn’t until now that Ray looked at the building. It was a 6 story apartment complex, the top floor being engulfed in flames and the lower floors being flashed with the red and white lights from the trucks. The Captain saw Ray immediately and yelled towards him. “Grab an SCBA(Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) and see the El Tee!”
Ray ran towards Engine 52 and opened up the side compartment, pulling on the bottle and letting the airflow into his mask. He walked over to where a few other guys were gathering near the pumps operator’s station and clipped his ID to a chain, alongside six others.
The engineer on duty nodded towards him, and Ray gathered with the other six guys wearing bottles, the Lieutenant already laying down the plan, “The guys on 51 and 45 were gracious enough today to stay out here in the relatively safe position of pumping water,” two guys chuckled, “So, that means we get the grunt work. Ramirez and Johnson, you two evacuate the first two floors, working up. Phillips and I will get the next two, working down. Ray, Rodgers, and Chunks. You guys got the top floors, we think there may be one or two people left up there. Once we clear our sections, we’ll rally with you guys. Got it? Let’s roll boys.” Everyone nodded, and Ray looked over at Rodgers and the man they called Chunks. He still didn’t get the nickname, but that was for a later time. Rodgers and Chunks grabbed a skyline kit, and Ray grabbed the halligan and ax, which were strapped together.
Ray was happy that he wasn’t carrying the skyline kit, which was everything they needed for “interior firefighting”. In most large buildings, there are water pumps in the center that in the event of a fire, a department can hook up to and fight the fire from inside. Ramirez’s team and the Lieutenant's team were already inside, so Ray put a chock in the door behind them to keep the fire from being fed air. They clamored up the first four flights of stairs, and by the time they hit the 5th floor, Ray was winded. He tried the door, and surprise surprise, it was locked. Ray put the ax down and put the halligan between him and the door. Ray put his weight into it and the door opened up, hot air rushing into Ray’s face.
Ray’s radio chirped in the background as he began calling out, “Fire Department, call out if you hear us,” while Chunks and Rodgers set up the hoses. From the third door on the right, a young man came rushing out, and Ray sent him downstairs. “One coming out”, he said into his radio. After he checked on all the rooms, he called out to Rodgers, “You guys set up down there?”
“Yessir.” Chunks said, coming down the hall with a hose over their shoulders and extinguishers in free hands. Ray grabbed an extinguisher, a halligan, and his ax as they went to the top floor. They nodded to him and Ray cracked open the door, the temperature significantly hotter. The back half of the floor was filled with flames, while the rooms closer were filled with smoke.
“Fire department, call out if you hear us!” As Ray flicked on his helmet and survival light,
Chunks and Rodgers opened up the nozzle and water doused the flames closest to them. Help. The voice was muffled, but Ray swore he heard the word. “Is anybody in here?”
“Help!” The words were barely audible, but Ray could tell where they were coming from… the far side of the building.
“Let’s go guys!” They fought back the fire, moving towards the voice as it continued to call out. “Listen, keep talking to us, we’re coming for you, alright?”
“The flames, they’re getting closer! Please help me!”
“Just remain calm, okay? We’ll get you out of here.” Ray found the apartment where the yells were coming from, and hit the burning door with his ax, chopping at it until they could get through. The room was seemingly covered in a thin sheet of flames, with the kitchen counter, the walls, and the couch all burning. He used the extinguisher to make a path through the room and came upon the bedroom, where the bed was covered in flames and he found the victim. “We’ll get you out of here okay!” As he approached the woman though, he noticed her left arm and leg were covered in deep burns and she was now unresponsive. “Damn!” he spoke into his radio, “Cap, this is Ray, we have a female, mid-twenties, unconscious and covered in burns. Bringing her down.”
“Advise Ray the building is burning up by the minute, grab her, and evac immediately.”
Ray put his radio onto its strap and picked up the girl with her arms over his left shoulder and her legs over his right. Chunks and Rodgers were clearing the way until the water stopped flowing. They both fumbled with the nozzle, and couldn’t get the hose to work. Chunks grabbed the halligan and ax and Rodgers grabbed the extinguisher, and the second they entered the hallway they found the problem. The walls of the hallway were covered in flames, and the floor was only slightly better. The hose must’ve caught on fire and was now spitting water everywhere and was flooding the floor. The water made a small pathway through the fire, and the darkness created by the smoke was cut by Ray’s helmet light and survival light.
Rodgers used the extinguisher to clear a path through the fire, with Ray in the middle and Chunks bringing up the rear. They got to the door to the stairs, but then there was a crash, and Ray spun around to find Chunks trapped under a collapsed and burning part of the ceiling. Rodgers ran to his side and tried to lift the main pillar pinning him down, while the trapped man screamed in pain. As Rodgers tried to free him, Chunks' SCBA bottle began making a noise familiar to any firefighter: the steady beeps of an SCBA alarm, alerting anyone in the vicinity of a firefighter who isn’t moving. Ray tried to click his radio to alert the Captain, but Rodgers beat him to it. “We got a man down on the top floor! We need guys up here stat!”
“No can do Rodgers, we evaced the building, you guys need to get out of there. Or that rescue is going to turn into a recovery.”
Rodgers swore. “I’ll get Chunks out. You get her out of here Ray.” Ray was too busy to argue and entered the staircase. The two floors below him were burning, and Ray darkly thought about how he was in the middle of a burning sandwich. As if to inform him that his luck had run dry, Ray's SCBA bottle beeped. Ray put the girl down, propping her against the wall, and checked his bottle’s pressure. 5 minutes. He picked her back up and tried to go down the stairs, but the flames raged and he was forced into the fourth floor’s hallway. He set her down and looked around, trying to think of a way to escape. As he tried to come up with a plan and looked about, he noticed water running down his helmet’s visor. Ray looked up to see a small hole in the ceiling leaking water, and before he could react, the floor above burst like a balloon and collapsed on top of him. Ray, now pinned, looked down at his chest, and was surprised to find that the pain in his chest was from a pillar that had impaled him. Somewhere in the background as his vision began to fade to black, Ray heard the SCBA chime, now multiplied by three.
