Co-writer: Brownblssm
Thanks to Janet.
Re-edited on 12-21-05
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The building was not up to code. The men of Station 51 warned Mel Thatcher, owner of the downtrodden building, several times to fix his sprinklers, his shoddy door latches and update the electrical wiring. All the same, he chose to ignore the warnings and when the fire broke in the overused laundry room from faulty wiring, the doors wouldn't open, trapping the people in the basement to die of heat and smoke inhalation before the fire consumed their bodies. The sprinklers never came on. No alarm was raised.
Of course, Mel Thatcher did not live in this building. He had a plush house on Peach Street. He didn't even come down to the burning site when he was called and told his building was burning to the ground and that people were dying. He didn't even see the carnage that his neglect caused.
So, with no warning for the others that inhabited the building, the fire had a field day with the old structure and the people who called it home. The old elevator shafts acted as chimneys and threw the fuel of oxygen on the fire. Dry wood paneling was kindling for the beast. Cheap plastic furniture and flammable polyester curtains put out toxic fumes as the fire consumed them as well.
The dingy apartments that not so long ago dotted the interior held close to one hundred people.
Once breathing people.
Some were rescued. Johnny went in with Roy and pulled out as many as they could find. And Squads 16, 19, 11 and 8 helped out after they were called in as the fire grew into a monster. A fire-breathing monster that snuffed out lives as easily as Johnny poured his milk for lunch.
Johnny turned his head to look at the bodies covered in bright colored emergency blankets from the Squads. He silently counted them again in hope that his last count was wrong.
Nope, still, fifty-nine dead bodies on the ground. Twenty-six of them were children's bodies. He could just make out their small figures under the blankets.
Then one of the children moved.
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Johnny woke up with a scream in his throat that he choked back just in time. Sweat was pouring off him, making his undershirt stick to his back.
His frantic movements must have woken Roy because Johnny could see the dim light of the dorm glinting off Roy's questioning eyes.
Without comment, Johnny got up, put on his turnouts and retreated to the day room.
Roy sighed on his bunk. Since the huge apartment building fire that claimed all of those lives three days ago, Johnny seemed to be having nightmares about the event.
Johnny wouldn't even talk about them, not to Roy and not to the Cap. That in itself was a red flag to Roy.
Roy sighed again. It was no use to follow his partner. Johnny was wound up tighter than a clock and keeping it all inside.
Roy turned over and went back to sleep.
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Mel Thatcher was not sleeping as well. However, it wasn't his conscious keeping him up at night. It was the worry over possibly not getting his insurance check from the burned out building because someone at the company got wind of his multiple warnings from the fire department.
His wife, Irma, was on his back night and day since the fire to try to collect on the policy. Their income was down due to the fire at the tenant building and she liked to buy things. Also, people were moving out of the other buildings and their intake of rent money was down.
But he couldn't figure out how to get that insurance check free and clear right now.
Mel huffed out a breath of frustration and ran a hand over his mostly bald head. All he did was cut a few money saving corners, and the damn insurance company was holding the check until further notice after a joint investigation with the police and the fire department.
What was he going to tell his wife?
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The next shift had the Cap all in an uproar. Chief McConikee was visiting all the stations for an information gathering tour and 51's turn was today.
The crew of 51 cleaned and polished everything in sight. Uniforms were done up correctly. The equipment was so clean you could eat off it.
The only thing not correct was Hank Stanley. He shuddered at the thought of the Chief in his station for even a second. That whole hat burning incident was hanging over his head like a sword on a string. He was just waiting for McConikee to cut the string.
Chairs were gathered and placed as the Chief was going to sit at the dining table in the kitchen.
At promptly 10 minutes before the Chief got to the station, Cap made every man he commanded sit in those chairs, military style, until the Chief arrived.
After two minutes, Johnny slumped down in his chair only to be elbowed by Roy. Johnny ignored him and looked around at the others. He could see the slow slipping of the sitting styles of the others as well.
Johnny snickered.
Cap glared at him and he shut up, but his crooked smile was out for all to see. Nothing Cap did could wipe that smile off of Johnny's face that was at his Captain's expense.
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The meeting started on time, McConikee passed out materials and settled down at the table, which he insisted on Hank Stanley sitting at as well. Cap was suspicious, but did as he was told.
"Men, I'm passing out the statistics for this last year in fire related deaths due to violations of the fire code. What I'm trying to do is get your input on how we can get through to the public that this is a very important issue. The department is looking for ideas to drive this idea home with residents."
Johnny looked at his paper and noticed that the devastating fire from three days ago was not included. Most likely, the paper was printed before the fire. He raised his hand and Cap gave him a glare. Roy also jabbed him in the ribs.
But he would not be deterred.
"Yes, Gage? You have a comment?"
"Yeah, Chief. We've just had to pull out some bodies from a fire three days ago, and we were wondering ourselves how it could have been avoided. If people would just think about what they were doing, not only are they endangering themselves, but other innocents as well. We've got to make them see that non-compliance hurts everyone in the end." He paused to pull in a breath. "I think we need a campaign that has two parts, a general knowledge of the fire code for the public and more building inspections."
Chet Kelly groaned out loud at that suggestion. Building inspections were not fun, especially if you were dealing with a huffy building owner.
The Chief looked thoughtful. "You may have something, Gage. What we would need would be a slogan, something to catch their attention."
"I think we should go with, 'The life you endanger could be your own.'"
The Chief's thoughtful look went to studying. "You sound like you've thought about this."
"I have since that big fire at Thatcher's building. Any word on what might be done with him after all those deaths? Some of them were children no older than three." Johnny's face was grave and suddenly Roy knew the subject of Johnny's nightmares.
He was dreaming about the children.
The Chief looked uncomfortable. He heard about the big fire down at the landlord's building. He also knew about the numerous warnings 51s gave him before the fire. Most of them came from Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto.
"A joint investigation has been started by the police, insurance company and the fire department. However, it may be months before anything legally is done. The police all ready have a heavy case load and the department has four other major fires to investigate."
Johnny didn't look happy. "But he owns other buildings. None of them are up to code. It could happen again while people are dragging their feet."
The Chief's face hardened. "Nobody will be dragging their feet, Gage. We'll be doing our best to look into him and his violations." He looked down at his notebook and made a few notes. "In the meantime, I want to talk to you more about this campaign you've thought up. Let's use Hank's office to talk about it."
The Cap gaped like a fish out of water.
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Roy DeSoto expected Johnny to come out of the office with a big grin on his face or whistling. That was not the case. Obviously, this was not one of Johnny's momentary interests. This was real for him.
"Hey, Roy, come on, Pal, we're going inspecting."
Roy groaned like Chet. This was part of the job he liked the least, dealing with disgruntled owners.
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Roy should not have been surprised that the first building they pulled up to was another owned by Mel Thatcher. It was building B, A having been the one that burned down to the ground. B almost tied A for violations.
Roy approached the building cautiously as he noticed a group of people loitering outside. He stopped the Squad, but before the paramedics could get out an angry mob was in front of them with bottles and bricks. A bottle smashed on the hood, spraying glass everywhere. The mob started to scream and advance when a woman with white-blond hair and a petite figure appeared in front of them with her hand held high.
"This isn't the answer! These men risked their lives to help your families in building A. I was there! I saw them! You can't be angry at them for trying their best. I'm sure they are as deeply hurt by the massive loss of life as you are." She lowered her hand slightly and looked over her shoulder at the Squad, then looked back at the angry crowd. "You have every right to be angry, but not at these brave firemen. Be angry at Mel Thatcher and his wife, who were told by these men to fix the problems before the tragedy took place. Face it. The Thatchers don't give a damn about any of your loved ones. If they did, they would've fixed the violations before the fire. So, get angry at the Thatchers!"
The woman's words seem to calm the anger toward the firefighters in the mob and it slowly dispersed, tossing the bottles and bricks to the ground.
Johnny and Roy breathed a sigh of relief. They slowly got out of the Squad with their helmets on for protection just in case another bottle came from out of nowhere.
Johnny walked straight up to the woman and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Johnny Gage, paramedic, and this is my partner Roy DeSoto. That was great what you just did for us."
The woman shook her head. "I'm Angela and no, it was great what you did at building A. It could have been many more dead if you and your fellow firemen hadn't been there to help us."
All three turned to walk into the building. "Did I hear you correctly in saying that you were there?" asked Johnny.
She nodded. "Yes."
"And you moved into another Mel Thatcher building?"
She smiled grimly. "It's all I can afford for the moment." She looked up at the building just before they entered the front door. "Besides, it's half empty after the fire three days ago. Many of the families with children moved out and are living in their cars or living with relatives. They don't want to take the chance that it will happen here as well."
Johnny nodded and then turned his attention to the building. "You're right. It could happen here. I can see four violation just standing here talking to you."
Roy also took a close look. "Yes. The front door locks are rusted, the emergency exit signs are no where to be seen, no fire extinguishers in sight and that fire sprinkler system looks like it's a hundred year old. Has it ever gone off that you know of?
Angela shook her head. "Not that I know of. The one at my first building never went off, either."
Johnny muttered under his breath, suddenly pulled out a pack of matches, and lit one. At Roy's startled cry, he held one under the nearest sprinkler head for a reaction.
There was no response from the aged piping.
Johnny almost growled.
"Angela, I've heard there are going to be an investigation of the Thatchers. Would you be willing to talk to investigators?"
"Sure, anything to improve conditions around here and at C and D buildings."
If Roy thought Johnny was grim after the sprinkler test, he was wrong. Johnny got worse as the day went on. In between calls for the Squad, they inspected C and D buildings. They were the same as B. Both buildings were nothing but violation after violation, all disasters waiting to happen.
Then something happened that made Roy joyful and yet made him groan at the same time. Johnny began to rant, one of his favorite things to do.
"Did you see those sprinkler systems, Roy? Wouldn't put out a campfire, let alone a whole building. And those doors? Did you see those, Roy?"
The rant went on for the rest of the day. All Roy could do was say, "Yes, Johnny" and "No, Johnny." And that was when he could get in a word edgewise.
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The next shift, Johnny went back to the buildings and wrote up the Thatchers again. And he made Roy go again the next day to inspect the buildings. Roy tried to talk to him, but Johnny was having none of it.
Johnny was going to write Mel and Irma Thatcher up until they made those life saving changes.
To hell with what anyone else thought.
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Next shift brought a visitor to the station. It was Vince, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and he didn't look happy to be there.
"Ah, Johnny, can I talk to you for a moment."
Johnny shot him a questioning look and then got up from the sofa where he was sitting with Chet and Henry the dog.
They went outside for their conversation. Vince didn't hold back when they got there.
"Do you know what you're doing, going to Mel Thatcher's buildings every day and writing him up?"
Johnny rolled his eyes. "Yes, saving those people's lives."
"He's tried to file a complaint against you for harassment."
Johnny was stunned but still unmoved from his objective. "I don't care, Vince. Those buildings have people in them. They have children in them. I'm not backing down until they pay for those renovations to correct all the violations."
Vince held up his hands. "All right, I'm just telling you. He's not happy about you coming to his buildings every day and leaving him a stack of violations to read."
Johnny kicked his foot against the ground and put his hand in his pockets. This wasn't Vince's fault. "Thanks, Vince. I appreciate your warning, but I've got to do this. All I can see are those dead bodies from that fire at building A."
Vince nodded and patted Johnny's shoulder. "O.K. Just try to tone it down a little. We'll try to keep him away from the paperwork for a while. I know he and his wife are being investigated by a few people for that fire. I'm sorry you and Roy were there."
Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "Better there and saving some lives than not there and more people dying."
As they parted ways, a car pulled into the parking lot.
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Johnny went back to sitting on the sofa with Chet and Henry when the Cap called for him from his office.
Johnny got up again and went to see a tall, dark man with a suit sitting in front of Cap's desk.
"Johnny, this is Ben Mosby from Mel Thatcher's insurance company. He would like to talk to you and then to Roy about those violations before the fire."
Johnny talked to the man for almost a half an hour, showing him the violations and describing the condition of the building before the fire. Near the end, he canted his head in thought and then got out a piece of paper and a pencil. "This is a woman named Angela Shroyer. She lived at the building. Talk to her and she'll back up everything me and Roy are telling you. She lives at the B building now and here's her address." He finished writing and handed over the paper. "She'll tell you."
Johnny got up and Roy was called in next.
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"What was that all about?" asked Chet on the sofa with a lap full of dog.
Johnny shrugged and flopped on the sofa. "The Thatchers' insurance man. I don't think they're going to get their money."
"Ooh, yeah! Let's get 'em where it hurts the most - their wallet and pocketbook! That'll teach 'em."
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The next day, Johnny got a phone call from Angela praising him for sending the insurance man over to talk to her. "Thank you. You're doing so much to help us."
"Not enough," he said glumly. "All those people died and I couldn't do a thing about it."
"Johnny, you did nothing wrong. None of you did. You did everything you could. If anyone is at fault here, it's the Thatchers. You did your job, so don't go on second guessing yourself. They need to face the consequences that their negligence has caused. The Thatchers don't care about anyone but themselves. They're self-centered, greedy, and don't give a hoot who lives or dies as long as they're getting their money. They've got a lot of answering to do."
Johnny nodded even though she couldn't see him. "Yeah, Cap told me not to second guess myself at the fire. Guess I should start to listen to you both. Maybe these nightmares will go away."
"They need a few nightmares of their own," said Angela crossly.
Johnny agreed.
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Mel just got off the phone with the insurance company. He wasn't getting the check. What was he going to tell his wife?
"Ah, honey, that was the insurance company. They're denying our claim due to all the building's violations.
Irma screeched at the top of her lungs. "How could they! All we did was cut a few corners and saved a little money." She jumped up from her spot on the sofa, stood in front of her husband, and began shaking her finger in his face. "If you don't find a way to get that check, then I'm leaving you. Call me when you do. I'll be at my mother's." With that she went upstairs to pack her things and call her mother.
Mel didn't know if he should be sorry to see her go or happy to have some quiet around the house.
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Mel went to bed at 10:00 p.m. and sighed. His wife had been gone for hours and it felt strange to him. The house was finally empty after getting married and raising three kids. Well, now that Mel thought about it, those three kids left as soon as they graduated high school. He wondered if Irma was the reason for that. He shrugged his shoulders, lay down, and pulled the covers up.
It was 4:00 a.m. when smoke reached Mel's room on the top floor. The downstairs kitchen stove had been left on and finally caught the nearby curtains on fire. The whole downstairs were in flames by the time Mel woke up enough to climb out of his second story window and go to a neighbor's to call the fire department.
He was standing on the lawn when Engine and Squad 11 pulled up in the driveway and the street. Mel was almost frothing at the mouth.
Samson and Collins ran up. "Sir, is there anyone in the house?"
"You have to save my house!" he screamed at the Captain of 11s.
Cap looked at the burning house. It would be a total loss in about three more minutes. The walls were already starting to cave in. There was nothing to be done but wait it out and make sure it didn't spread.
"Is there anyone in the house?" At the negative answer, the Cap shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. There's nothing we can do but make sure it doesn't spread to the rest of the neighborhood." The Captain knew who he was talking to. Everyone in the fire department knew the names and street address of the Thatchers after that huge fire at their building A. "Did you have smoke alarms in the house?"
Mel shook his head, stunned. No, he hadn't put up smoke alarms. Irma said they were a waste of money and time.
So this is what it felt like to see your whole life go up in flames.
"But you have to save it," he whispered.
Samson heard him and the paramedic got mad. "Why? You and your wife didn't give a damn that people were dying over at your building and suddenly you feel more for a pile of wood than them?" Samson shook his head. "Looks like your cost cutting and violations have finally caught up with you."
Their Captain ordered a wash down of the neighbors' homes and they quickly put out the sparks in the grass and trees.
Just like the Cap thought, the house was gone in a matter of minutes.
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Mel had nothing but the bedclothes he was wearing when he went to bed. He decided to catch a ride over on Engine 11 to his building B. He knew there were several vacancies in the building after the last fire. One of them had to have a bed or a sofa to sleep on.
Even at 5:00 a.m., he was noticed as he went up the stairs since the elevator was not working. He never fixed it when he bought the building.
The response was immediate. Someone yelled his name and suddenly there were lots of people milling around in the stairwell. Some were trying to throw punches while others were screaming obscenities at him.
Then Angela came from nowhere. "People, violence is not going to solve anything. I'm sure Mr. Thatcher will fix the problems now that they have been brought to his attention. Am I right, Mr. Thatcher?" She gave him a hard look.
Mel was tired and scared. "Uh, yeah."
"And you'll help these people with their expenses after losing their homes and loved ones?"
"Yeah."
She turned to the crown of angry people. "I'm sure that Mr. Thatcher will start in the morning going over our demands. Let's all get some more sleep and then talk it over in the morning." She glared at Thatcher. "And I'll see you at 8:00 a.m. for a tour of this disgusting thing that you call a building."
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Johnny got a call from Samson on the next shift. "Man, guess whose house burned down?"
Johnny was still having nightmares and getting very little sleep, so he was in no mood for guessing games. "Just tell me, Samson."
"Oh, someone's not getting enough sleep. Well, anyway, it was Mel Thatcher's house. Burned right to the ground. Nothing we could do for it. He didn't have smoke alarms and he called us too late to save anything. And I mean anything. It's all gone. And now he's living at building B. Isn't that were your new friend Angela lives?"
Johnny's bad mood was suddenly gone. "Yeah, Angela lives there. Man is Thatcher in for a shock. That building has seen better days."
"You're telling me."
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Thatcher toured the building once in the five years it was in his possession. The only place he visited was the manager's office on the first floor to pick up his violation papers from the fire department and throw them in the trash.
He was truly shocked at the condition of the building.
After his tour with Angela, he sat down and listened to the tenants who lost family in the fire.
He almost felt lucky just to have lost a house to fire after hearing the stories.
Then he heard a sound that he dreaded. His wife coming to look for him. "Where is he! What are we going to do about our house?"
She came into the manager's office looking rumpled and a little sooty from the scene of her house fire. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and opened her mouth to let her husband have it. "That's it! I told you to get that money and you couldn't do it. Now you've let our house burn down! I'm leaving you, Mel, if you don't straighten up!"
Mel stood up and really looked at his wife for the first time in years. Then he took a look at himself. He didn't like what he saw. "It wasn't just me that burned down our house. Whose idea was it not to put up smoke detectors? And as for leaving me, go ahead. I've come to realize that you were never in love with me you were just in love with my money. Now that I'm almost broke, you're going to leave me. Well, I won't stand in your way. I hope some other rich man will see you for what you are before he marries you. A gold digger. I'll be as relieved to see the end of you as our children were when they left after high school."
Irma stood there with her mouth wide open, her eyes round. "But-but-"
"Go on, now. You don't need a broke man like me, a man with no check coming in from the insurance company and no money coming in from building A. You don't need me anymore."
"But what about the other buildings?" she demanded.
"Oh, they are half full now. They got frightened for their lives and left." He shifted up his belt. "And just to let you know, I'm staying right here and making those changes that the fire department has been warning me about. I'll be broke after doing it, but I'm going to do it to save lives."
"You're crazy!" she yelled. "That will take all of our savings! All of our money! Our beautiful money!"
He shrugged. "I found out last night what it was like to lose everything you had in a fire. I'm going to do the right thing this time for these people. I can't give them back their loved ones, but I'm sure as heck going to give them peace of mind while living in my buildings."
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Johnny and Roy showed up the next day to write up Mel Thatcher, again, when Mel and Angela met them at the door. Angela wore a big smile.
"You boys can stop coming here every day. I'm going to make the changes," said Mel Thatcher with a grave look.
Johnny almost fainted. Mel Thatcher was changing his ways?
Angela nodded. "Believe him. I've been helping him get ready for the renovations." She suddenly jumped out and hugged Johnny and then Roy. "Thank you both so much for your help."
Johnny didn't mind the hug but Roy blushed from head to neck.
"And I've also promised to help him with any legal action that might be taken against him because of building A." She clapped her hands. "I think a lot of this can be put on Mrs. Thatcher. Oooh, it's going to be great living in a building without fear of fire!"
She hugged Johnny again, but Roy waived her off. After all, he was a married man.
"I'm so glad for you Angela, and the others who live in these buildings. I hope everything works out for you. If it doesn't, call us down at the station house. We'll be back every once in a while for those inspections.
Mel nodded. "And we'll be ready for them."
END