Checks and Balances
Chapter 8

The fire at 14th and Delroy involved a small white house on the corner of the two streets and was fully engulfed. The engine had arrived first and Roy could see Marco and Chet already trying to knock it down with inch and a half lines while a frantic bystander was speaking with Captain Stanley waving her arms and pointing to the house. Dwyer brought the squad to a stop just in front of the engine and they both hopped out and got into their turnouts and SCBA gear.

"We have a man trapped on the first floor, south side." Cap called, out to them as he jogged up to the two paramedics.

Acknowledging the information, Roy and Dwyer ran for the only accessible entrance to the victim, a window on the side of the home. 36s rig soon arrived on scene and prepared to use the snorkel to give aerial support. Getting to the window proved to be a struggle because a willow tree near the side of the home had caught fire and blocked there way.

"Cap, we need coverage over here!" Roy called out.

Captain Stanley had Marco and Chet move to the south side as he directed engine 10 who arrived with 36 to take the northern end of the fire where 51's men had been working. It seemed to take inordinately long to dampen the fire raging through the tree along the south wall enough to allow access to the window, but as soon as they saw their chance to move in, Roy and Dwyer darted up to the side of the house.

A quick glance into the window showed the paramedics that a man overcome by smoke was lying face down on the floor not far from an interior door leading into the home. The walls and ceiling were already fully involved. Grim looks were plastered across both men's faces as Dwyer broke the glass with his helmet.

"I'll go. Get me some cover!" Tom shouted over the sound of the raging fire.

Within moments he grabbed the window sill and was through the window making his way across the room to the victim.

Roy called out to Marco, "Cover Dwyer's exit. The room could flash!"

The linemen were already in position to direct a powerful stream of water through the window while watching Roy's outstretched hand as he peered in to make sure that the water didn't impede the rescue in progress. This type of exit coverage was tricky, but necessary, a flash-over would be disastrous at this point, not only for Dwyer and the victim, but for everyone.

The water introduced into the burning room created gusts of smoke and steam which billowed out through the open window partially obscuring Roy's view inside. He knew that Dwyer had reached the victim, but he could no longer see either man and directed the linemen to aim the stream at the ceiling. Roy was about to climb through the window himself to go and see what had happened and began to pull himself up when Tom emerged from the smoke dragging the unconscious man behind him.

Roy jumped back down and took a firm grip of the man's shoulders as Dwyer began to feed the limp form through the window. Chet let go of the line and rushed forward to help, grabbing the man's legs as he came out the window. Roy and Chet scrambled back away from the house. Dwyer grabbed the edge of the window sill and quite literally dived through the window landing awkwardly on the ground.

"You okay?" Marco shouted coming forward to help the paramedic.

"It's gonna flash! Run!" Dwyer shouted.

Marco didn't need to be told twice. He dropped the hose as he grabbed the collar of Dwyer's turn-out and both scrambled away from the house just as the room flashed at the same time the gas line in the structure blew.

Roy, Chet, Marco, Dwyer, and their victim were all thrown to the ground with the shock wave from the explosion. A rolling wave of blistering heat accompanying the deafening blast seared the air above their heads as they lay motionless on the ground. His ears were ringing as Roy pushed himself up to his knees checking on their victim. Chet had managed to protect the unconscious man with his own body. His turnout coat sheltered both men from the fireball that would have rendered flesh from bone had they not been covered. Slowly Marco and Tom shook off the effects of the blast, coming to their knees as well.

Chet wasn't moving and Roy rushed over to him rolling him off the man he was protecting. "Tom! Chet's hurt!"

Dwyer and Marco moved instantly both taking flanking positions by the downed firefighter. Cap ran over to his men having seen them thrown by the explosion and helped Roy to move the fire victim away from danger as Marco and Dwyer dragged Chet.

By the time Chet had been moved to the area next to the squad he was conscious and trying to sit up insisting that he was fine. Dwyer placed a firm hand on his shoulder forcing him back down as he began checking vital signs. All of the men's attention was diverted to the corner when bright sparking from the power pole sizzled through the night air. The explosion from the house had damaged the power pole and the men watched as it teetered and fell landing directly on top of the waiting ambulance creating a new hazard as live power lines draped across the road and over the vehicle.

Both attendants were inside the ambulance and as soon as Cap saw their predicament he shot up and ran a few paces closer to the vehicle with his hands held up in the air calling out as loudly as he could. "Don't move! Stay inside the ambulance!"

The downed pole had a transformer on it that sparked dangerously drawing the attention 10s captain. "Get wire cutters to cut those lines!" Captain Royce Jacobs called to one of his men.

Captain Stanley spoke into his handi-talkie. "LA, Engine 51; we need the power company to cut power to the transformer at 14th and Delroy immediately! Also dispatch two more ambulances to the scene."

"10-4, Engine 51."

Roy and Dwyer stayed with the victim from the fire and Chet taking vitals and administering oxygen, while Cap concentrated on keeping the ambulance attendants safe from the dangerous situation with the downed power lines. Much to Cap's dismay it looked like one of the attendants was panicking and he tried to open the door to jump out.

"Stop! Stay in the vehicle!" Cap shouted, holding up his hands and trying to draw the man's attention.

The man either didn't hear or was too panicked to listen. The power line was arching and swinging all over the place and to Cap's horror he saw the end of the line slap against the exposed attendant who was half way out of the vehicle.

He could hear the other attendant yelling at his partner to close the door but it was too late for that. The men from station 10 carefully approached the downed pole with long wire cutters. There was a bright flash as the hot power line snaked along the side of the ambulance and came in contact once again with the now unconscious attendant half hanging out of the cab.

Roy, who had been watching the drama unfold, knew immediately that the man would need the defibrillator. "Tom we're gonna need the datascope and defibrillator!"

Chet pushed the oxygen mask from his face and shouted, "Go! I'll be fine."

Dwyer had already come to the same conclusion and ran to the squad to pull out the equipment they would need to treat the attendant. The men from 10 got the power line cut, but there was still the sparking transformer to deal with. The pole was lying across the hood of the ambulance and Cap knew that they couldn't extract their new victim until the transformer had been dealt with. "Marco, get asbestos blankets, enough to cover the transformer!"

Dwyer anxiously waited for the transformer to be covered offering the best protection available until the power could be cut. Once two of the fire resistant blankets had been draped over the still arcing box, he moved with Marco to the driver side of the vehicle. The attendant who was unharmed sat stunned looking over to his partner. "Can I touch him?" The man asked, clearly unsure whether or not it was safe.

"You'd better let us take care of him okay?" When the stunned man didn't respond right away Dwyer gently shook his shoulder. "It's okay. It's safe to get out now," he coaxed the man.

Marco led him away to the squad where Roy was talking to Rampart about the fire victim and Chet. He glanced up at the two approaching, "Is he injured?"

Marco got the shocked man to sit on the bumper of the squad. "No, just a little scared." Marco called over his shoulder as he ran back to help Dwyer get the second victim out of the ambulance.

Roy nodded his understanding and spoke into the biophone again. "Rampart we have a third victim who was electrocuted by a downed power line. We are still extracting him from the vehicle, hold for vital signs."

"10-4, 51. How is victim number one?"

"Vitals remain stable. He is responding to the oxygen and has regained consciousness."

"Monitor his airway and breath sounds, continue to administer oxygen and transport as soon as possible. What about victim number two?"

"Vitals remain stable, but pupil response is slightly sluggish." Roy said, as he once again forced Chet to lie back.

"Aw, come on. Roy. I just got my bell rung is all." The Irishman protested.

"And that, Pally, is precisely why you are going in to get checked out." Cap said, with a voice the brooked no argument.

"51, monitor vitals and transport as soon as possible. Has victim number three been extracted yet?"

Roy glanced up at Dwyer and Marco as they carried the unconscious man over to the treatment area. "That's affirmative Rampart. Hold for vitals."

Roy had just finished his transmission with Rampart when Dwyer and Marco brought the ambulance attendant over. Roy scooted over and began to open up the defibrillator and datascope while Dwyer checked for a carotid pulse.

"Pulse is rapid and weak" he reported.

Marco opened up the man's shirt while Roy checked his blood pressure and respirations. Dwyer attached the heart leads and as soon as a reading came up on the datascope he could see sinus tachycardia, but after only a few moments his rhythm deteriorated and Dwyer called out, "V-fib!"

Roy began CPR while Marco attached the respirator mask and began forced ventilations. Dwyer pulled out the paddles of the defibrillator and began a verbal count. "2, 3, 4... Clear!"

The shock from that paddles brought the man back into a sinus rhythm and Dwyer dropped the paddles and picked up the biophone.

"Rampart, our third victim was in V-fib, we shocked him once and he is now in sinus rhythm. We are sending you a strip on lead two, hold for vitals."

While the paramedics worked on the downed ambulance attendant, Cap came over to check on his men. "The fire is under control. How are they," he asked, indicating the victims?

"Severe smoke inhalation on our guy we pulled from the house, Chet may have a mild concussion, and the ambulance attendant..."

"Roger, his name is Roger." Cap and Roy turned to look at the other ambulance attendant who had regained some composure.

"Thanks, pal." Roy said, then turned back to Captain Stanley. "Roger went into V-fib, but we got him back. What is the ETA on the other ambulances?"

"It shouldn't be too long now. I called dispatch as soon as the power pole fell."

Cap wasn't wrong, two ambulances arrived at the same time Roy finished with the IV for Roger. They loaded the smoke inhalation victim and Chet into the first ambulance with Roy, and Roger rode in the second ambulance with Dwyer.

Roger's condition went downhill on the ride into Rampart. He ended up in V-fib again and Dwyer began CPR as the ambulance backed into the ambulance receiving bay.* Dwyer stood up on the rail of the gurney continuing CPR as the man was whisked into one of the nearby treatment rooms. The ambulance with Roy and the less critical victims had arrived first. He had already coaxed Chet into an empty treatment room before handing off the smoke inhalation victim to one of the ER residents.

Roy soon met Dwyer in the treatment room with their electrocution victim. He tapped Dwyer on the shoulder and took over chest compressions as the ER staff worked feverishly trying save the man. After nearly twenty minutes of CPR, shocks, and drug interventions Roger was finally in a stable sinus rhythm.

Dr. Early sent the two tired paramedics on their way and they headed straight to the treatment room where Chet was. The rest of the engine crew had come to the hospital to check on Chet as well as bring the squad so that Roy and Dwyer could get back.

"Hey did he make it? The ambulance attendant?" Chet asked, as soon as he saw his shift mates.

"Yeah, it was pretty dicey there for a while, but I think he's gonna make it. How are youdoing?" Roy asked.

"Just waiting for my discharge instructions. I'm fine, just like I told ya. I'm cleared to go back on duty."

Cap shook his head. "I'll tell ya, this shift has been something else. I'm glad you're okay Chet. It might have been a little hard to find a replacement for you at this hour."

The door to the treatment room opened as Dr. Brackett stepped in holding a slip of paper. "I'm going to release you, but under the condition that if you experience any symptoms, and I mean anything..." he fixed Chet with an intense stare to emphasize his point, "I want you back here. Considering what happened to Johnny earlier, I'm tempted to keep you overnight for observation as a matter of course..." he held up a hand to stave off the objection that Chet was about to voice "but, since you check out physically and neurologically I'll release you."

Cap spoke up before his lineman could say anything that would cause the doctor to change his mind. "I can assure you, doctor, that I'll drive him here personally if he shows any signs of trouble."

Dr. Brackett looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded and handed the discharge slip to Chet. "I'd still like to see you back after your shift tomorrow to get checked again, just to be sure everything is okay." He turned his attention to Roy, "If you can spare the time, I'd like to speak with you in my office."

Roy looked to Cap who showed a mixture of concern and curiosity in his face. "Just call in your availability when you leave. We'll see you back at the station."

Roy nodded his understanding before he followed Dr. Brackett out of the treatment room knowing full well that Cap wouldn't sleep until he could fill him in on Johnny's condition.

Dwyer stepped out after Roy and fell into step beside him. When they came to the base station Dwyer said, "I'll grab some coffee, see you in a bit?"

"Okay, it shouldn't be too long." he called over his shoulder as Dr. Brackett kept on walking toward his office.

Dwyer smiled brightly at Julie Rommel who was just coming out of the base station room.

"Hello Tom, I didn't think you were on until tomorrow."

"Hey, Jules, I'm Johnny Gage's replacement. How's he doing by the way?"

Julie's eyebrows shot up. "Johnny's here? I wasn't aware of that. Shortly after I came on duty I took a call for a possible tension pneumo, set up the treatment room, but then I got sent to peds because of a staffing problem. I only came back down to the ER about a half an hour ago."

"The tension pneumo wasJohnny." Tom said, with a grim expression.

"Oh my, Lord! Oh I'm so sorry. What happened?" The nurse asked.

"He fell off a roof today during a rescue." Tom started to explain when Julie interrupted.

"The baby that climbed out on a roof this afternoon? I heard rumors about that. That was Johnny who saved the child?"

"Um, it sounds like you know more about it than me. All I know is that he fell off a roof and developed a tension pneumothorax as a result. So maybe you can fill me in a little."

"I wasn't directly involved because that was the day-shift, but from what I understand a two-year-old girl climbed out a window and got onto the roof of the house. She fell but was caught by a fireman who cradled her against his body when they both fell off the roof. In any case, the child was fine and her mother couldn't stop going on and on about the brave fireman who saved her baby. It was all the day-shift was talking about when I came in."

Tom was duly impressed. "That does sound like our Johnny; so can you find out where he is? I'd like to go check on him."

Julie nodded vigorously. "Sure thing, just go get some coffee in the lounge while I find out where he is and how he's doing."

Dwyer poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down on the sofa. Before he knew it he had closed his eyes and started to drift off but came abruptly awake when the hot liquid slopped onto his hand and leg.

"Crap!" He got up quickly and discarded the coffee before making his way back out to the nurse's station.

When he arrived, Julie was there looking agitated and that only got worse when she saw the paramedic approaching. Dwyer got a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Jules, what is it? What's wrong?"

Julie looked around as though making sure no one would over hear her. "Tom we've known each other for a long time and you know I would do just about anything for you, but I really can't talk to you about... about who you asked about."

"What do you mean, Jules? I'm only asking about a patient Roy brought in, and a fellow fireman. I'm not some nosy stranger ya know, and I'm starting to get a very bad feeling about all this."

Once again Julie glanced from side to side then she leaned over and spoke quietly. "All I can tell you is that John Gage is not a patient in the ER, not now." She smiled a sad smile at Tom. "I'm sorry, Tom, I really can't say anything else. All I know is that something happened, and the administration higher-ups are in a fit. The staff has been given strict instructions not to discuss anything about Johnny to anyone except his immediate next of kin."

Dwyer paled slightly at that. "Johnny doesn't have any immediate next of kin. He had an aunt, but she passed about a year ago I think. Jules, is he... did he die?"

Julie looked at Tom clearly frustrated by all of this. "No, I don't think so. I went down to the morgue when I couldn't get an update on his condition and he isn't there. George likes me and he let me take a peek at all the new clients."

"George? Clients? Jules, what are you talking about. Who is George?"

"George Weinman is the coroner. He always calls new additions to the morgue 'clients'. Coroners are an odd bunch, but the point is, something is up and the administration is very nervous about it."

She patted his hand that rested on the desk. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but honestly I don't know any more than what I've said already, and that could get me fired." She slid her hand away from Tom and moved off to the treatment room to join Dr. Early with his patient.

TBC

* There are two places that a defibrillator cannot be used. In a helicopter and the back of a moving ambulance although the risk is lower in the ambulance than in a helicopter. I only recently discovered this. If you try to defibrillate in a helicopter while in flight you could easily crash the aircraft. In an ambulance there are also issues with electrical interference but not as severe due to the rubber tires, but it is not advised to use the paddles while in transport. Today the AED devices are acceptable to use in an ambulance. The charge is lower and due to the way it is set up it doesn't interfere with the electrical system of the vehicle the same way defibrillator paddles would. Again something I recently learned when we had an unstable cardiac patient who needed to be transported to one of the big city hospitals. We couldn't call Life Flight because even using the AED isn't safe when in the air. They did however have the AED attached to her for transport in case she went into V-fib a fourth time while she was being transported to the city hospital.

A/N: DHall has also started looking at my chapters and is helping me to break them up a little. I may have already said that, but I want to thank her as well as my two trusted betas for this story.