The alarm went out just before 9 PM. A factory fire at Pier 13. The Squad arrived just 10 minutes after the alarm went out. Immediately command called in a second alarm. Flames were visible from the upper floors.
"Lt. Johnson, I need your squad to perform a search of the fifth floor. Dispatch is receiving reports of a worker trapped on that floor." Command reported
Lt. Johnson nodded and then turned to his crew.
"Dispatch reports that there is a worker trapped on the fifth floor… DK, Taylor, Walsh, Jimmy, go find them!"
Lt. Johnson didn't need to give his firefighters a pep talk. They knew what their job was, and they would do whatever it takes to get it done.
They all grabbed their gear and went into the building. They worked their way up the stairs while firefighting operations were underway. A fireboat was in the river working on attack of the fire. Ladders scattered about the scene were also working on exterior attack. The fire seemed to be contained to the 6th-8th floors.
Soon the four were on the landing to the 5th floor.
"DK, you stay with me." Jimmy said
"Guess I'm stuck with you." Taylor cracked as she turned and looked at Walsh
He smiled, "Well little lady, let's go."
Taylor and Walsh made their way in first. They went to the right. There was a long hallway with various rooms off of it. Their flashlights made the search seem eerie. It was dark, but there was very little smoke. The water was dripping down the walls. Walsh looked up at the ceiling.
"Wonder how long that's gonna hold." He said
"Try not to think about it, let's find this worker and get out of here. I don't want to spend anymore time in here than I have to." Taylor said
Jimmy and DK were searching around the machines.
"Wouldn't you think that when the alarms sounded, you'd just get out?" DK asked
"How long have we been searching?" Jimmy asked
"Bout 10 minutes now." DK replied
"Taylor, Walsh, you find anything yet?" Jimmy asked over the radio
Taylor looked up, "Nothing yet, we're at the back of the warehouse." Taylor said
The building started to rumble a little.
"What was that?" Walsh asked
Taylor's eyes scanned the ceiling, "I don't know." She replied
"Jimmy, did you hear that?" She asked into the radio
"Yeah, we heard that." Jimmy said
Soon the ceiling gave way in the hallway. Walsh and Taylor quickly ducked to avoid the debris.
"Okay, we need to get out of here." Walsh said
"Jimmy, our path to the stairwell is now blocked. We're going to have to find a new way out." Taylor radioed
The orange glow was visible as the dust settled.
"I don't like this." Walsh said
"Let's go." Taylor said
The flaming debris ignited the contents of the room.
"Taylor to command. We now have fire on the fifth floor Southwest corner." Taylor radioed as she and Walsh moved towards the fire escape
"Command copies fire on the fifth floor." Returned over the radio
Jimmy and DK were making their way back to the exit. They got into the stairway and headed down.
Taylor and Walsh continued out of the building. Walsh stepped out onto the fire escape and he turned to assist Taylor out.
Everything suddenly became quiet.
"MOVE!" Walsh yelled at Taylor
The room flashed over and Taylor was forced the rest of the way out the window. Walsh nearly fell over the railing of the fire escape as he caught her. The breath of fire flashed over their heads as they laid on the metal of the deck.
Walsh ripped his mask off.
"You okay?" He asked
Taylor slowly sat up and removed her mask. She was breathing heavily.
"I…" She panted, "I can't breathe."
Walsh panicked. He pulled at her coat to loosen it. She continued to pant.
"Try to slow your breathing." He instructed as he knelt beside her.
All she could do was pant.
"Okay, I need to get you down to the medics." Walsh said as he tried to lift Taylor up
He grimaced in pain. His shoulder hurt very badly. Walsh fought through it and picked Taylor up. He fought his way down the fire escape.
Lt. Johnson saw them coming down.
"Jimmy! DK! Go get Taylor!" He yelled out. "Medics!"
Jimmy and DK sprinted up the stairs towards their friends.
"I got her Billy." Jimmy said as he took Taylor from Walsh
"Let me help you." DK said to Walsh
"Get Taylor down." Walsh said as he leaned over
"We're gonna get you down too." DK said
Walsh was holding his arm and grimacing in pain. Carlos and Kim immediately went to Taylor.
"Taylor, try to slow you breathing." Carlos said as he put an oxygen mask on her.
Kim was listening for lung sounds. She shook her head.
"Taylor, you listen to me. I need you to slow your breathing down." Kim said
Taylor shook her head.
"How am I doing?" She asked still gasping for air
"You're doing good. Keep taking deep breaths." Kim replied
Kim turned to Carlos, "She needs to go now!"
"Okay. I'll drive." Carlos said
Walsh made his way over.
"You should get that arm looked at- and that's not a suggestion." Lt. Johnson said
"Got room for one more?" Walsh asked Kim
"Yeah, come on." Kim said
Walsh climbed in the back and then Jimmy shut the doors. Carlos pulled off en route to Mercy. Carlos was on the radio trying to give them a heads up on the patient.
"This is Boy 55-3 in route to your facility with a 5 minute ETA. Two patients. The first a 28-year-old female, decreased lung sounds on the right side. Was blown out of a fifth story window landing on a fire escape. The second patient 30 year old male, possible dislocated shoulder." He said, every once and a while he would look back to see how Kim was faring.
Walsh was trying to help Taylor stay calm. She was obviously not in good shape.
"You stay with us you hear?" He would ask
Kim nodded her head. It was exactly what she needed Walsh to do. She started a line in Taylor's right arm. Taylor's breathing rate decreased.
"Carlos, get a move on it!" Kim looked up
"Taylor, don't you do this to me. Don't you die on me!" Walsh cried
Taylor could only make eye contact. Her crystal blue eyes fixated on his. For the first time ever, he could see fear in them. It scared him. He griped her hand tighter and held it to his face.
"Don't you die on me Alexandra… don't you die." Walsh said
It was one of the first times that he had used her formal name. He was desperate. Kim took the mask off and began bagging Taylor when her respirations dropped to 8 times a minute.
Taylor attempted to mouth something, but neither Kim nor Walsh could see what she was trying to say.
Carlos pulled the ambulance to a halt in the emergency bay at Mercy. He pulled the doors open.
"Oh God! Taylor!" He cried out as he rushed to get the cot out of the back of the unit.
They wheeled her into the ER.
"28 year old female, from the factory fire. Thrown through a window during an explosion. Landed on a metal deck. Decreased lung sounds on the right. Respirations dropped to 8 in the bus." Kim rattled on
Walsh had to let go of the stretcher when they wheeled it into the trauma room. He stood by the window and watched as the doctors worked on her. Kim and Carlos stood beside him.
"You should get that shoulder checked out." Kim suggested
"I'm not worried about me." Walsh replied
Kim put her hand on Walsh's good shoulder.
"She's tough, she'll pull through." She said
Carlos watched a little while longer before he and Kim went off to the lounge to work on their run sheet. Walsh watched and waited. It seemed like slow motion to him. Nurses running in and out. Doctors moving around the bed. At one point it seemed like he was stuck in a time warp. He watched all around him as everyone did their job. But the sound of the busy ER was silenced for a split second. Then there was a hiss and an explosion that rocked the ER.
The fireball knocked the windows out of the exam rooms. Walsh hit the floor as it shot above him. He covered his head to protect himself from the glass.
"Alex!" He screamed out as he looked around in horror.
The fire alarms sounded and the sprinklers activated. He could see people trying to make their way to the exit. Various parts of the ER were on fire, the admitting desk, the nurse's station, and the curtains in the exam rooms. He stood up and fought through the smoke. He coughed.
"Alex!" He yelled out again as he fought his way into the Trauma room she was in
The guys were in the lounge, thinking about what had happened at the fire. Lt. Johnson was in his office when the alarm sounded.
"Squad 55, Ladder 100 respond for an explosion at Mercy Hospital ER."
They all suddenly felt a sickness in the pit of their stomachs. Lombardo, DK, and Jimmy ran for the truck. Lt. Johnson wasn't far behind them.
DK jumped in the driver's seat and out the door they went.
They were on scene in next to no time at all. There were evacuees all around the parking lot. Each one of them scanned the scene looking for their friends.
"Boy 553 is still parked over there." Lombardo pointed out
Jimmy's face sunk. Suddenly they all sprung into action. No one needed an order told to them. They had one goal in mind, to get Kim, Carlos, Walsh, and Taylor out of that building.
"Billy? Kim?" Jimmy called out as they made their way in
Lt. Johnson began helping victims out of the hallway. DK and Lombardo worked on fighting back the flames.
Walsh made his way into the trauma room. There were still flames in there. He found Dr. Fields who was lying unconscious on the floor. He drug him out of the room to one of the guys from Ladder 100.
"I think there's people still trapped in here!" Walsh said
"Billy, they wanted me to get you out of here." He said
"Not without Taylor!" Walsh said as he plunged back into the smoke filled room.
He found the bed that had been overturned from the explosion.
"Taylor!" He called out, "Alex!"
He felt his way around in the black smoke. It was dangerous for any of them to be in there still due to the oxygen tanks. He didn't care. He had to get Alex out of there. So he continued searching.
Jimmy worked his way back the hallway to where the lounge was. He felt around for the door and fought through the smoke. He forced open the door.
"Kim?" He yelled out, "Carlos?"
He made his way into the room and found Carlos lying on the floor. He checked for a pulse, which was there. He took off his mask and provided oxygen to him.
"Jimmy?" Carlos asked, groggy from the smoke
"Yeah, Carlos, we're gonna get you outta here. Do you know where Kim is?" Jimmy asked
"I don't know. I don't even know what happened." Carlos said
Lombardo entered the room with DK.
"Get Carlos out of here." Jimmy instructed.
DK pulled Carlos out and helped him outside while Jimmy and Lombardo continued their search.
Lt. Johnson tried to find Walsh and Taylor. He knew Walsh well enough to know that he wasn't leaving that building until Taylor was beside him. Lt. Johnson made his way into the exam rooms and started a methodic search of them.
He continually checked for any victims trapped inside, but his main goal was his two firefighters.
Walsh hit the wall of the trauma room.
"Damn it!" He cried out as he felt the pain go through his shoulder. He still hadn't found Taylor anywhere. So he began feeling around and noticed a hole in the wall between the exam rooms. He slid through it hoping that it would lead him to Taylor. What it led him into was a bigger disaster.
Jimmy made his way around the room and found another person next to the couch.
"Kim?" He asked as he turned the victim over he found that it was in fact Kim.
Jimmy checked for a pulse.
"Damn it Kim!" He cried out as he began CPR.
Lombardo made his way over to Jimmy.
"Jimmy, we gotta get her out of here." He insisted
Jimmy continued the CPR.
"Jimmy she doesn't stand a chance in here!" Lombardo yelled at his friend
Jimmy reluctantly paused the CPR in order to get Kim out of the building. He picked her up into his arms and carried her out.
Walsh was starting to have difficulty breathing from the smoke. He weakly called out for Taylor. He became disoriented and bumped into another overturned stretcher. Then he found a person.
"Taylor?" He asked as he got in closer.
She looked at him.
"Billy." She managed to say
"I'm going to get you out of here." He said
"It's too late." She replied
"No, we're going to get out of here." He insisted.
"Go on." She insisted.
He attempted to get her up, but he didn't have the strength left to do it. He held her in his arms.
"You know that you have been my best friend right?" He asked
She could barely get the words out, "Yes."
"I love you Alex Taylor." He cried
"I love you too." She said as she gasped for air
There was another hissing sound, Walsh just closed his eyes.
Jimmy put Kim on the ground in the ambulance bay.
"Medics!" He yelled as he started CPR again.
He looked up in time to see the fireball rush out through the doors.
"NO!" Jimmy jumped up and started to run towards the building
He was grabbed from behind by DK and Lombardo.
"It's no use Jimmy!" DK said
He watched as the attack lines moved into place. Deep in the pit of his stomach he felt pain. The same pain they all felt. Jimmy stared at the building in disbelief.
DK looked down at the ground and shook his head. Lombardo scanned the scene and reality set in.
Taylor, Walsh, and Lt. Johnson were all still inside that building. The only one of them that stood a chance was Lt. Johnson who was in full turnout gear. Lombardo brushed a tear from his cheek as he continued to look around.
The medics had stopped working on Kim. It was a mass casualty incident and there was just no way that they could bring her back. Jimmy fell to his knees next to her and he wasn't afraid to let his tears fall.
A crew of medics loaded Carlos into the back of their bus. They were taking him to get treated. He closed his eyes and let the oxygen take full effect.
DK walked slightly towards the building and picked up a helmet that was lying amid some flaming debris. The shield was white and said "55" on it. He carried it back to where Lombardo stood.
"Lieu's gone." He said quietly as he hung his head
Jimmy turned his head to see Lombardo place his hand on the helmet in DK's hands. A hard drizzle began to fall over the scene.
Once the fire was knocked down they went into the building to recover the lost. Lt. Johnson was just feet from the door. It was just too far. They found Walsh still holding Taylor in Exam 3. The fire had blown over them, but the smoke is what did them in.
The four caskets lined the front of the church. A picture of each sat above the flag draped coffin. There were flowers amid them all. Those left behind didn't have to wonder why, they knew that their loved ones died doing a job that few would brave.
Taylor and Walsh's caskets were sitting side by side. Kim was to the right of Taylor, and then Lt. Johnson's was on the end.
Ruth Johnson stood over her husband's casket, leaning down over it crying. Jimmy fought back tears as he laid a gloved hand on each of his friend's caskets. He held Joey's hand as they stood in front of Kim's. Lombardo and DK stood in front of Walsh's, and Beth Taylor cried as she kissed her hand and then placed it over her daughter's coffin.
Soon the sound of bagpipes filled the streets as 4 engines with black drapes slowly made their way towards the cemetery. The remaining members of the Squad, Ruth Johnson and her three daughters, Joey, Catherine Zambrano, Beth Taylor and Adam followed slowly behind.
They were followed by a sea of blue. On lookers saluted as the procession passed. At the entrance to the cemetery an American flag hung between the extended ladders of Ladder 100 and 26.
Bosco, Faith, Davis, Sully, Lt. Swersky and many more of the NYPD's 55th Precinct stood guard and saluted the fallen heroes.
The bell called out the signal that the firefighters had returned home. Five bell strikes, followed by five more, then another five, and finally another five. It was signaled for each of them.
At the end of the services Carlos, DK, Lombardo, and Jimmy took the pictures of their fallen comrades. When the returned to the house they looked at the black drape above the door and the flag at half-staff. They walked into the bay and to their memorial for the fallen.
Pictures of Tommy Doyle, Bobby, Taylor's father, and a few other firefighters that had been members of the house lost in the line of duty, hung on the wall. There were four hooks set out with them.
Jimmy looked at everyone and nodded. All at once they stepped forward, hung their picture, and then stepped back. As a final honor the four saluted the wall.
Camelot was forever changed. Never again would the same strong bond exist between the members of the 55. Jimmy Doherty took over the Lieutenant's position, but he always thought about what Lt. Johnson would think if he were there. Joe Lombardo lost two of his best friends that day- and it hurt. When he and his wife Linda found out they were expecting twins, it was only natural what their names would be. DK took over as the chauffer of the Squad. Not a single day would pass without at least a mention of one of the four fallen members of the Squad. Billy Walsh, Alex Taylor, Kim Zambrano, and Lt. Francis Johnson- Fallen Knights of Camelot.