It was perfect fire conditions; the state was gripped by an extreme heat wave and had been enduring two months of little or no rain. A few small fires had broken out in various parts of the state, with the most dangerous fires being monitored in Pasadena, Oakland and Woodland Hills. Background temperatures reached 115 F the humidity was low and winds were in excess of 62 mph around Woodland Hills. Many fire stations had been called to the area and one of those stations was A Shift of station 51.
All the men were tired, as they tried to keep back the beast by initiating back burning. Protecting the various small towns in the area was the priority. A cool change hit the state in the early evening, bringing with it lower temperatures but gale- force south westerly winds in excess of 75 mph. This change in wind direction caused the eastern flanks of the fires to become massive fire fronts that burned with incredible speed and ferocity towards the small towns scattered amongst the hills.
Everyone involved with the fire was taken by surprise. There was no time to run if you found yourself close to the fire front because it was burning and moving at an intense rate. Station 51 along with a few other engines was located just outside one of these small towns. It became obvious very quickly that the hours they had spent back burning were wasted. The fire front was moving so fast that it jumped the lines of defence without any effort.
The small town had spent the day thinking it was safe only to find itself overwhelmed by the wind driven fire. When Captain Stanley realised how much danger the town was in they quickly started to evacuate the area. There equipment was simply too inadequate to fight as everything was devoured at an alarming rate.
In the underdeveloped surroundings of the small town, where dry vegetation was fuelling the fire, the scattered homes had no chance against the fire. Home owners who stayed to defend their homes soon found the heat so intense that they couldn't even escape in their cars because the tires had melted. Those who did escape in their cars were quickly overtaken by the fire. Later gruesome discoveries were made of burnt out cars with their occupants.
Station 51s crew found themselves fighting the fire one house at a time. This meant a lot of houses were left unprotected but there was nothing the men could do because they were simply overwhelmed.
Chet and Marco had their hose directed towards the roof of a house while Roy and Johnny were directing their hose on the outside of the house. They were winning until a tree that was located in the front yard suddenly came down on the roof of the house. All their efforts were in vain. There was no way they could stop the fire from devouring the house so they moved on to make sure it didn't spread to the neighbours house.
Johnny and Roy turned around and aimed their hose at the next house. As soon as it was safe they moved onto the next house and this went on till the early hours of the morning. When they finally stopped and looked back they had only saved ten houses in a street of thirty. It was quite devastating to look back at the carnage. All the men were beyond tired as their relief finally arrived.
"This is the worst brush fire I have ever fought" said Chet with conviction.
"Same here" said Captain Stanley.
"How's everyone's eyes?" asked Roy as he looked everyone over for any injuries. No one spoke up. Johnny had only half eaten his food and was already asleep; lying back on the grass under the tree they had commandeered had been too inviting.
"Wake him up, he needs to eat" ordered Captain Stanley.
Roy shook Johnny awake and told him to sit up and finish his food and drink otherwise he'd get dehydrated. It was 6am and the heat was already building. The crew grabbed four hours sleep and were assigned to another small town within the hills. The weather conditions were the same as the day before except for the winds, they were more intense.
The town they were trying to protect had been evacuated but for a handful of volunteers who stayed to protect their homes. Captain Stanley sent Roy and Johnny out to these volunteers to make sure they were adequately dressed and knew what they were doing.
They found one homeowner shirtless and defending his home with a garden hose whilst standing on the roof of his house. Johnny and Roy jumped out of the squad and told him to get down from the roof. When he turned and started walking towards the ladder he slipped on the wet slates and fell from the roof.
Johnny and Roy grabbed their equipment and raced over to the owner. He was conscious and in a lot of pain. His leg was fractured and his back was cut up from sliding along the roof. After calling it in they were told the ambulance would be forty minutes. There was nothing they could do but wait. Johnny plugged up his gutters and placed the running hose on the roof. He also used the shovel to clear as much of the vegetation surrounding the house as he could in the time frame.
When the ambulance arrived, Roy went in with the patient and Johnny continued to check on any remaining home owners hoping that he wouldn't come across one as stupid as their last. He told a couple to cover up, being so hot; it was natural to strip off. In fire situations Johnny pointed out to them that they needed to protect their skin by wearing wool or cotton.
Checking his watch he contacted Roy on his HT. "Squad 51 to HT51 what is your status?" There was no answer. "Squad 51 to HT 51 what is your status?" Silence met Johnny's ears.
He called despatch on the squad's radio and asked if they knew Roy's status. They said he left the hospital to return to base, in the ambulance over an hour ago. He asked Sam to contact the ambulance and check where they were.
"Squad 51 Ambulance is currently not answering their radio. Suggest you follow their route and report findings.
"10-4" Johnny jumped into the squad and followed the road they would take from the hospital to his location. He soon found the ambulance parked on the side of the road. No-one was around. Johnny called it in and Captain Stanley told him they would be there in fifteen minutes. Johnny started to scan the ravine next to the road wondering if they saw something and went to help. The smoke was starting to get thick and it made searching near impossible.
Johnny couldn't see anything out of the ordinary so he tried the HT again. "Squad 51 to HT 51 do you copy"
"Johnny we need help" came back Roy's voice with a lot of static interference.
"Roy where are you, I'm next to the ambulance?" asked Johnny.
Only static replied. Johnny began to worry. He paced the side of the road looking for any evidence of someone having made their way down into the ravine. Bushes should be showing some sign of disturbance, but there was nothing. He walked further down the road from the direction the ambulance came, thinking maybe they saw something and parked the ambulance further along. The smoke was really getting thick and Johnny could feel his eyes stinging. He put on his goggles and kept searching. There was no sign of them.
The engine approached him. Johnny jumped up on top of the engine and looked down into the ravine. He caught sight of what looked like an overturned car. He only got a glimpse of it before the heavy smoke swirled into the ravine obscuring it.
"I think they're right below us Cap. I caught sight of an overturned car" Johnny yelled from on top of the engine.
"Ok Chet inch and half. Marco grab some shovels and a pry bar just in case."
"Do you think we should take the stokes Cap?" asked Johnny.
"Good idea, grab the one from the engine" he told Johnny.
"Now let's move we don't have much time" Cap directed as they made their way carefully down the ravine.
The combination of the smoke and the heat made the trek more difficult. All the men were fatigued from the afternoon and night before. Through the smoke they finally caught glimpses of the car and Johnny saw the light blue of Roy's shirt. He sighed with relief; he had been worrying that he was sending them on a wild goose chase.
"ROY!" he yelled.
"Over here" came back Roy's voice. Everyone was coughing and breathing heavy.
When they reached Roy Johnny exclaimed "Am I glad to see you" and he patted his partner on the back. "What have we got?" he asked.
"Two victims, husband and wife. Wife's in a bad way" Roy told Johnny quietly.
Cap's HT came to life "Engine 51 to Captain Stanley".
"Go ahead engine 51" replied Cap.
"Fire is less than ten minutes away, you need to move now" said Mike.
"Let's get these victims out now" commanded Stanley.
The wife was quickly put in the stokes, one of the ambulance attendants was holding pressure on a cut artery. Roy and the other attendant had been trying to free the husband. With the use of the crow bar they got him free. The attendant and Marco helped carry him out while Roy, Johnny and Cap carried the stokes.
They clumsily climbed back up to the engine, the temperature had increased substantially and the smoke was even thicker. They all looked down the road when they got to the top and could just make out the flames.
"Quickly on top of the engine let's go" called out Cap. Chet's hose was separated from the engine and dropped on the ground. Everyone climbed on top of the engine and Mike started her up and drove away from the ambulance, the squad and the wind-driven fire. By the speed the fire was approaching them they knew they were in trouble. Mike would have to draw on all his skills to get the engine out of there to safety.