Jennifer's shift at 51B and 36A during the week went fairly well compared to what could have been. She was grateful for Johnny, Chet, and David making her feel welcome. 36A was quiet as if the men spent their time studying the intruder. It was a busy day in which she spent most of the time relaying information to Rampart.
The following week she worked with 51C on Wednesday. It helped that the men knew her father, but she felt uneasy that she had been placed at 51 so many times compared to the other stations. The special treatment did not go unnoticed. However, there was a small part of her that was grateful. She didn't want to quit, but she also couldn't be sexually assaulted on the job again.
Despite the special treatment, she would soon see another station, 95 B, on Friday. Then there would only be a week left of three days at the hospital, 1 shadow shift, and then the written test. Then she was in the last stage of training—placement at her permanent station and following the tradition fire department schedule of twenty-four on and forty-eight off.
When Jennifer arrived at station 95, she was not greeted with a usual nervous hello from the captain. The nervousness always came from never having worked with a woman before. This captain was more welcoming, which only put her more on edge. Captain Engle was kind too when she first met him. He showed her to the locker room, where she was going to change. Jennifer's eyes would dart to the door, every so often, try to expect the unexpected. In a state of undress, Jennifer heard a door squeak. Jennifer had some company. She was quick to cover her chest up with the blouse she had been wearing. She could have sworn that she had put the "Women's Bathroom" sign on the door when she entered, which showed that the guys should keep out. She shook her head, she should have figured that it wouldn't have stopped anyone.
"You ain't got nothing, I don't have. Well, unless there's something you're hiding." Samantha barked out with a laugh and a raised eyebrow. Jennifer sighed as she put her shirt down on the bench, no longer concerned with protecting her modesty. She put her arms through the uniform shirt and then buttoned it up, starting from the bottom and working her way up.
"I thought you worked A shift?" Jennifer questioned. She pulled off her jeans as Samantha took a seat on the bench next to her.
"I do, but I heard you'd be working on the B shift, so I traded with one of the guys. Figured I'd piss off the guys by having not one, but two women on shift. Plus, I never got the chance to work with another woman, so I thought it might be cool. So, it's a win-win situation." Jennifer finished putting on her pants.
Jennifer did not realize the planning that it took for Sam's switch. It started with a call from David to Linda, which became a regular check in since the assault. David had given Linda the rundown on Jennifer's assignments for the week. Once Linda realized that Jennifer would be working at the same station that Sam worked, she decided to make another phone call. Once Sam heard of the possibility of working with a woman, she tried to call in a favor to Jon, one of the guys on B shift. When he initially turned her down, he threatened Jon with the possibility of having two women. He changed his mind real quick after that realization.
"Let's go. I'll introduce you to the guys," Sam ordered after Jennifer changed into her uniform.
The two women made their way into the kitchen and dayroom area. Jennifer noticed several eye rolls and some scoffing. She didn't comment, but Samantha wasn't about to let it go. "Usually guys are happy to see two young, attractive women. What's wrong with you guys? Not a fan of the opposite sex?" Samantha gave a wink to a dark, haired man in his late 20s who sat at the table. He shook his head as the smirk on his face grew bigger. Samantha introduced Jennifer to the crew, saving that man for last. Jennifer was quick to notice the comebacks that Samantha had for the guys and she wouldn't let up. When she would pick on one guy, the others teamed up with her. Jennifer's eyes opened as to the person she was going to have to become. She just wasn't sure if that is who she wanted to become.
"Aw man, two women, this is wicked," said the man.
"Wicked means good," Samantha translated with a side glance to Jenn. "This is Caitlin's brother, Sean. Caitlin's on B shift so you didn't get to meet her yet. You know they're from Boston, just in case the crazy accents didn't give it away. Half the time you can't understand a thing he says, so usually, I just nod my head and pretend to agree." Jennifer gave a quick nod. "Good girl."
"Hey! I doan have an accen," he countered.
"He doesn't have too many consonants either."
"Bedda be nice ta me. Ya ain got too many friens, chowdahead." He put her into a headlock and gave her hair a quick rubdown with his knuckles. Jennifer continued to watch the exchange and was at a loss. Jennifer thought she would be upset if this occurred to her. She watched the exchange and thought about how it would be something Jennifer and her brother would do.
Samantha quickly ducked out of his grip and elbowed him in the gut. He doubled over with a grunt. It was as if Samantha read Jenny's mind. "I got assigned here, and he wasn't the biggest asshole of the lot. We got to talking and his sister was getting ready to move here. We got talking and she decided to join the department. Caitlin's like a sister to me, which means he's sorta like my brother. He's the weird sibling though."
Jennifer was kept busy with a variety of emergency calls that included two vehicle accidents with minor injuries, a broken wrist during a gym class, and a heart attack. It was 4:45 PM, and she was about to change back into her street clothes when the klaxons sounded calling Station 95 along with Engine 51 to respond to a house fire.
Station 95 was the first on the scene, leading Captain Green to run point on the call. Captain Green quickly gave direction to his crew but worked the two women together. "New girl and old girl, you girls take a one and three quarters in. McCreary and Desmond, you've got the ventilation. Stevens and Jones, check on that guy." McCreary opened his mouth to have the ladies split up but the captain's look gave him a second thought to keep his mouth shut.
The two women put on their SCBA gear and tightened the helmets before grabbing the hose line. The engineer handed Jennifer a handy talkie to put in her jacket to radio when they were in position for the line to be charged. "First live fire?" Jenny didn't respond. "Listen, stay low. Make sure we don't have kinks and keep the line to the right of us. When it's charged, you're my support. We've got this." Samantha said with a reassuring smile. Jennifer just nodded as her stomach churned. This was the first time she was entering a fire outside of the academy. She knew that this would be a part of her job, but it wasn't the preferred part.
The two advanced the line through the front door, then through the living room, before moving into position at the entrance of the kitchen. Jennifer used the handy talkie to announce that the two were in position and needed water while McCreary and Desmond went around the house carrying the tools necessary to ventilate the house.
The Engineer knew the two women had to have been in position, but he just wanted to give them a moment of panic before he turned on the line. The house was only so big and it wouldn't take long for the two to get into position. However, he knew that he would not be hearing them over the radio. Their walkie had a piece of tape around the antenna, unbeknownst to them, it indicated that it was the one without the batteries.
Engine 51 pulled up. Captain Green directed additional lines to go around the back of the house and to go through the rear. As Captain Gage walked past Stevenson giving the homeowner a breathing treatment and wrapping a burn on the man's arm, he overheard the homeowner realize that a propane tank was in the house. Stevenson looked up at Gage. "Where's it at?" Captain Gage asked.
"It's...It's in the pantry. Right off the kitchen." Gage took off to inform the Captain and to alert the men inside. Gage took notice of the uncharged line. The homeowner quickly took notice of the eye roll that Stevenson gave. "I know it's stupid...stupid grease fire...I don't like the tank to get dirty outside."
Johnny unclipped his handle talkie from his turnout coat and commanded the crew to back out. The loss of property was nothing compared to the possibility of a loss of life. Captain Green stomped over, "what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Captain Gage informed the captain that there was a propane tank in the home. Inside, Samantha was the first to notice that the temperature was quickly rising. She could feel the sweat dripping from parts of her body that she did not know could sweat. "Where's the water?" Jennifer asked again through the handy talkie. Still no response for the third time. The crackling of the fire made it difficult to hear.
Samantha glanced up to see the flames slithering along the ceiling. She knew what was coming. "Dive down!" Before DeSoto had time to respond to the directive of the senior woman, she felt herself being thrown to the side. Her arm struck the corner of the wall leading to the hallway. She felt Samantha crash on top of her. The ceiling rained down on them. Jennifer struggled to catch her breath that was forced out of her body.
McCreary was not so lucky when the fire flashed over. As he was venting, the blast knocked him off his feet. As he fell backward, he was knocked out cold when his head hit the back of the cement patio. Even the helmet did not help with preventing the concussion. Desmond's voice on the radio stated that there was a Code I in the back of the house.
Jesus and Dixon worked on putting out the fire as Captain Gage maneuvered behind them to the moving pile of rubble. He didn't see any bodies close to the hose, which was a good thing considering. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw some movement. He crawled to the pile of rubble and started to move some pieces of drywall out of the way. Johnny reached out to help the firefighter. "Can you walk?" The firefighter nodded. Samantha started to dig furiously at the pile and Gage followed suit. It didn't take long to find the turnout coat. The flickering of flames provided just enough light to catch the name on the back, "DESOTO."