Authors note: These characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. All storylines are completely made up and my own creations. Suggestions are welcome.
Chapter 02: Doing What We Do Best
Penny had just spent most of the morning at a meeting with Chief Fire Officer Boyce. Officer Boyce was keen on having her around Newtown Fire Academy more often, given that she was now a leading firefighter and the only certified scuba diver and trained lifeguard from the Academy.
Ocean rescues were something she had not really given much thought of when she started her career. She always wanted to be a firefighter but when the opportunity arose, she immediately took on scuba diving classes and attended basic lifeguard's course. Of course, as time passed her passion increased and she went on to taken an intermediate course in scuba diving while at the same time Pontypandy was having the boathouse built.
While she advanced in skill, she always thought of being lucky to have been stationed in Pondypandy, under Firefighter Sam Jones, the hero-next-door. She was fortunate to have him mentor her.
"I wonder what they're up to now." It had been rather boring, and all Penny wanted to do was to get back to Pontypandy and back to the training exercises the team was having that morning. While she had finished the class with the trainee firefighters, she and Boyce had spent the remaining day discussing all sorts of improvements that could be made at the fire station but most importantly the changes to some of the rescue procedures.
However, the real reason Boyce had called her out to Newtown that day was to offer her a leading firefight position at Abershire, a neighboring seaside town. Boyce felt that having two leading firefighters at Pontypandy was a waste of great talent that could be put to use elsewhere. Abershire needed an expert in ocean rescues and Penny was more than qualified to take on that role.
But Penny had no interest in taking up the job. It would be a great boost to her career, but she loved her position at Pontypandy. After all, there were plenty of ocean rescues that needed her help – like the time Norman decided to use Joe Sparks Submarine to film the Pontypandyness monster or Charlie, Bronwyn and Ben lost at sea while looking for whales, or her favorite - Tom getting lost at sea while taking an afternoon snooze.
She firmly turned down the offer. Boyce, however, was adamant.
"Think about it, Firefighter Morris. This is a chance to also become station officer at Abershire fire station. Don't make this decision in haste, it is a wonderful opportunity. I'll give you some time to make your decision"
And with that Boyce finished up the meeting and left.
It had otherwise been a quiet day in Pontypandy, for a change. Inside the fire station, Sam and the team were getting settled in for the night shift. The team assessment had gone well. Towards evening, thick clouds began to roll in and now the rain had begun to fall. Station Officer Steele was downstairs in his office, preparing to head home for the night.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Elvis was writing a new song, while Ellie had the spooky storybook which she had borrowed from Sam. It was the same book that Penny had given him during one of their shifts and Ellie had been keen on reading it for several days now.
The Map Screen 700 started to sound. "An oil tanker en route to Newtown has overturned on the Newtown Road near the forest trails" it announced.
"An oil tanker en route to Newtown has overturned on the Newtown Road near the forest trails" announced Station officer Steele over the announcement system.
"Come on team let's go!" called Sam as the crew rushed towards the poles. Down slid Sam and Elvis, while Ellie and Arnold stopped their cleaning chores and hurried inside to don their uniforms and helmets.
Elvis and Arnold rushed into Jupiter while Sam got onto Mercury. Ellie went into Phoenix as this would be the job of a heavy lifting vehicle like this.
"Sam to Wallaby 2, there has been an accident involving an oil tanker and we need assistance immediately", called Sam as he began to give Tom the details of the accident.
"No problem mate" answered Tom," I'll be here as soon as I can". The team then immediately started towards the accident site.
As he reached the site, Sam caught sight of the accident. Apparently, the oil tanker had veered off the road when the driver lost control.
Sam quickly asked for Ellie to stabilize Phoenix, while Arnold and Elvis secure the oil tanker. Luckily the tanker had not burst into flame or else it would have been a major accident. He had seen one such accident before in Cardiff and it was not a pretty sight – the oil tanker had exploded, setting fire to a number of vehicles. As the tanker sat on the side of the road, fuel had begun to leak out in large pools causing the fire. At least nine people had died in that crash
He wasn't going to let that happen. At least there were no visible oil spills. He ordered Elvis and Arnold to quickly lay down sticky foam around the tanker, while he and Ellie helped lift it back up.
Sam then got around to helping the vehicle's driver — who was trapped in the front cabin following the accident.
"There you go Sir, safe and sound. However, you should be careful on these roads. It could have been a very bad accident" said Sam "But, how come you are you carrying fuel through these parts of town?" he continued.
Apparently Mason – the driver – said that he was delivering an unscheduled fuel consignment as the fuel drop-off for Newtown was late and a last-minute request had been put in. As a result, he'd been put on duty to make the drop-off when it should have been his day off.
As the team began to pack up their equipment, Sam cautioned Mason to take it slow on the road, it looked like it was going to rain soon.
"Thank you Fireman Sam" replied Mason as he inspected the tanker, waiting for the tow truck to take the vehicle. It was better this way as Sam was uncertain if the vehicle had been damaged during the accident.
The team had packed off all the equipment and had helped to clean up the road. Once done, they began to head back to the fire station.