The Boot

Chapter Thirty One

By GCS

DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.

Back on shift the station tones rang out before Captain Jones could even finish roll call.

Men scrambled for the various rigs as information broadcast over the loud speaker. Engineers stopped at the large map on the wall pinpointing their destination. Linemen slipped into their turnout coats and secured their helmets as they climbed into their seats and the vehicles spilled into the morning traffic.

Ahead of them stretched a long day of calls, but right now their minds tried to grasp the long list of companies called to the college dormitory. Calls like this were hard to face. The residents were just kids about the same age as Johnny. He shuddered to think how afraid they might be as the flames took away all their prized possessions or trapped them with mounting fears of no escape.

Johnny felt the adrenalin surging through his veins as he reached up and double checked the tightness of the chinstrap on his helmet. Glancing over at Bill he noticed the other lineman had a deep furrow in his brow; concern etched on his face. Bill too checked his gear and secured his SCBA straps preparing for the call.

Arriving at the scene Scotty pulled the engine alongside the hydrant. Johnny and Bill stepped of the rig to lay dual lines. They made quick work of connecting the hose as Scotty maneuvered the engine to a spot directly in front of the blazing structure. Bill jogged over to the engine to pull his line as Scotty stepped up to the side of the rig and motioned for Johnny to let open the flow of water. Engine two set up from the hydrant on the next block. The ladder truck set up to cover the roof attack. Captain Jones directed the other stations as they arrived on scene.

Students huddled together across the street watching as their dormitory went up in smoke before their eyes.

Captain Jones walked over to a group of students still in their night clothes and slippers. "Where is the Dorm Advisor? Does anyone know if everyone got out?"

What he got in return was bewildered looks from frightened college kids, until a frantic older man ran from the front of the building. "I need some help in here!"

Captain Jones met the man half way across the front yard of the four story building. "How many people are still in there?"

The man was bent over coughing harshly, one hand bracing himself on his knee as he hunched over with his other arm wrapped around his middle. Barely able to speak between the racking coughs, he looked at the fireman, "Three. I can't find them. I tried to get up to their rooms, but the stairs are blocked by the fire. There isn't an elevator. We have to get to them!"

"You need to calm down. These kids do not need to see us lose our heads here. Now you said they were upstairs. Which floor?"

The man nodded his understanding and turned to face the deteriorating structure. "Two on the third; one on four. Please, we need to help them."

"We will, but you have to stay out here and help keep the others together and calm. I don't have time to watch them and keep them from trying to go back in after their friends. I need you to do that. Okay?" Captain Jones gave the man instructions. He hoped by doing so that he would gain two things; first, to occupy the man and second, to maintain crowd control. Then he turned to his rescue men. "Tony, I need you and Joe on the fourth floor. We have one missing up there." He looked back at the building and knew the men would not have time to cover both floors before they would need to be called out. Scanning the situation quickly he saw the men from the other squads helping some of the kids over to the ambulances that had already arrived on scene. He guessed that some had minor burns and smoke inhalation. He decided to send in two other men to start checking the third floor while Tony and Joe headed up to the hottest part of the fire. His eyes landed on Bill and Johnny. "Gage!" He continued his scan and decided on Gotchalk, "Gotchalk!" he waved both men over. "I need the two of you to go up to the third floor and start the search for two missing kids while Tony and Joe go up to four for one more. Keep your HT handy. This thing is going up fast. It's an old building. Make it fast."

The four men nodded their understanding and turned toward the entrance.

Gotchalk grabbed Johnny by the shoulder, "I'm on lead Boot."

Johnny gave a short nod and the two men disappeared into the smoke filled lobby on the heels of their shift mates.

A group of policemen arrived and started assisting in getting the names of all the surviving students. Vince Howard was the officer in charge, "Burke, I need you to get the names of that group, and Stewart, you take the others over there. Captain Jones, what else do you need from us?"

"That's it for now Vince, but I'll call ya if anything comes up." Now knowing for sure the crowd would be taken care of Captain Jones made his way over to Engine One to check in with Scotty.

Inside the burning structure the four men made a quick ascent up the first flight of stairs taking them two at a time. Once they reached the second floor they immediately felt an increase in the heat. A fireman could tell the intensity of the fire as they approached its fury. Sweat began seeping into their turnout coats and sliding down their backs. The smoke filled the rooms started as a thick cloud that hovered near the ceiling creating a strange haze the men hunkered low to try to avoid. The crackle of the burning flesh of the walls mixed with the constant hiss of the life giving canned air they breathed. Pieces of the structure's framework fell beside the men as they continued climbing into the throws of purgatory. Were it not for their protective gear the ash and cinders would have left burning welts on their overheated skin.

As they climbed another flight of stairs Johnny's mind conjured up the idea that this experience would be similar to that of pigs in a blanket while baking in a preheated oven. His turnouts like the biscuits wrapped around the hot dog hugging tighter as the heat intensified. The sweat beaded on his arms like the juice that escaped the hot dog's outer skin. He shook himself and forced his thoughts back to the next flight of stairs. One more and he and Dale would fan off and begin their search.

Officer Drew Burke had finished listing the names of the group of students Vince had assigned him to and now had them moved to a shady spot beneath a large oak tree in the park at the corner. He walked back over to check in for his next assignment. "Officer Howard, I've moved my group over to the park. There are volunteers providing them with water and blankets. What do you need me to do next?"

Vince glanced over to his other officers and saw that they had everything under control. "Why don't you direct traffic away from the area? I suspect parents will start arriving soon. You take that intersection. Route all parents and family members to park in the student parking one block down. I'll have Stewart take the other side."

"Yes sir." Drew ran back over to his squad car and pulled out an orange reflective vest for himself and Stewart his partner. He jogged over to Stewart and gave him the vest before turning to the intersection he'd been assigned. As he jogged he pulled the vest on and just before stepping into the street he fastened it. As he stepped into the intersection with his hands raised to halt traffic tires squealed from braking vehicles. Drew's head shot up at the sound and he side stepped a bit as a motorist distracted by the fire nearly ran him over. As Drew's eyes locked with the shocked driver's the man held his hands in the air in apology. Drew waved the man through the intersection and began the arduous task of speaking with each motorist to enquire their intentions. He pointed several worried family members to the designated parking area.

The California sun beat down on the police and firemen as they worked in tandem to control the situation at hand.

Inside the first floor of the dorms several teams of linemen from several different stations maintained a stronghold against the encroaching flames. Hoses crisscrossed the stairs leading up to the upper floors where other teams had gone up to clear a safe exit for the rescue teams and the students they'd gone up to find. Chet Kelly and Marco Lopez passed their hose from side to side and traced a circular motion from time to time to extend the far reaching spray of water onto the surrounding walls. Jim and Cody Graves were mimicking the spray patters a few steps up the next flight to the fourth floor.

Tony and Joe had gone as far down the corridor as they dared. The far end of the hall bore evidence of pending collapse. One more dorm room was assessable to them; they silently prayed the victim would be in that room. If not they would be forced to retreat to the floor below to assist Johnny and Dale in searching for the other two students. Tony tapped Joe on the shoulder and pointed down the hall to the exit and then to the last door. Joe nodded his understanding. This was their last hope of finding the kid they had been told was up here.

Joe slipped off his glove and checked the door for heat. Finding no more than expected in the hot furnace the dorm building had become he slipped his glove back on and kicked the door open. Tony moved quickly into the room and across to the bed. Immediately they saw a form beneath the covers. Tony ripped off his glove and felt for a pulse. The kid was barely breathing and his pulse too slow. Tony pulled his helmet off and swiftly removed his facemask placing it over the boy's face. Then he replaced his helmet and scooped up the lifeless body throwing it over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

The two men headed for the stairs where they knew instinctively the linemen would be waiting offering protection for them. Tony stumbled on a fallen timber and Joe immediately offered a stabilizing hand as they moved through the door into the stair well. As suspected they were greeted with Jim and Cody's relieved smiles.

Cody and Jim followed them down to the next level where they began to support Chet and Marco on keeping a path for Johnny and Dale. Their presence gave Chet and Marco the ability to move further down the hall fighting back the flames the threatened from the ceiling above. Johnny stepped out of the room at the end of the hall with a petite girl cradled in his arms. His face mask fastened tightly over her face. Dale followed behind him with her roommate; his mask over her face. Both men were already coughing. Their faces drenched with sweat and soot steaks from the involuntary tears that spilled from their eyes. Chet shut off the nozzle, and he and Marco laid down their hose to assist the two men and their precious cargo down and out of the building. Cody and Jim keeping the way clear for all of them. As they reached the first floor their HTs sprang to life with the call to clear the building. When they stepped out into the sunshine and felt the cooling spray from the hoses directed at the exit they could hear the tell tale sound of a building giving in to the beast. They quickened their pace to safety as the force of the rush of air from the collapsing structure pushed them to the ground.

Johnny threw out his hand to try to prevent himself from crashing down on the girl in his arms. He rolled to the side and cradled her closely protecting her from debris. Before he had time to react any further he felt hands on his arms lifting him up and supporting him across the lawn to the yellow blankets spread out by the Rescue Squads.

He felt the burden lifted from his arms as he sunk to his knees. His SCBA replaced on his face to help his breathing. He instinctively put his hand up and held it in place welcoming the clean air. He looked through gritty eyes to thank whoever it was that had helped him, but all he saw was the other lineman jogging back to the job; the name "Kelly" stenciled on the back of his turnout coat.

The next thing he knew a cup of water had been forced into his hand, and he looked up at the smiling face of Cody Graves. "Drink up Gage! You know Cap will be pissed if you end up at Rampart again."

Johnny rolled his eyes and lowered his mask. "Thanks." He choked out and raised the cup to his mouth. Took a few sips and then tried again. "Man that's good."

Cody took the cup, "I'll be right back with some more."

Johnny nodded and turned to see how the girls and Gotchalk were doing. Dale smiled back at him and raised his cup of water in salute. Jim stood up and grabbed his now empty cup to fetch him some more. His eyes traveled over to the two students as they were being loaded into the waiting ambulance. "Are they going to be all right?" He asked Tony.

"Yeah, I think so. They both have some pretty severe smoke inhalation, but Rampart will take care of that. I'll see you guys back at the station. I'm going to ride in with them and make sure they get there okay." With that he climbed into the ambulance and Joe shut the doors giving them a double tap to signify the all clear to the driver.

Then Joe turned to Johnny and Dale. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah." Dale answered for the both of them. "We just got a little hot and breathed a little smoke." He supported the last statement with a cough and then a chuckle. "It was a good rescue, but now I remember why I never wanted to do rescue."

Johnny felt a bit differently about the feelings running through him. He felt… accomplished… Like he'd ran a marathon and come in first place; like he'd just received a certificate of honor for a well received story in his high school newspaper. He was thrilled with the thoughts that he had given the girl a chance at life. The feeling was exhilarating.

The fire was now out and the cleanup had begun. Station 10 having been first on the scene was released from the cleanup task. Traffic had been successfully re-routed and roadblocks set up. All that was left for the police was to watch and make sure no one tried to move the barricades from across the road. Drew saw Johnny sitting on the running board of the engine and walked over to say hello.

Johnny walked over to the engine and sunk down on the running board to wait for Scotty, Bill and Captain Jones to join him before climbing up into his seat. He leaned back and closed his eyes. The heat had taken a lot out of him. A smile crossed his face as he thought about the pigs in a blanket.

"What's got you so all fired happy?" Drew asked as he leaned against the fire engine with his arms crossed.

Johnny opened his eyes and looked up at the officer. "Drew! What are you doing here?"

"Well I've been risking my neck out here directing these crazy drivers away from the scene. I nearly got ploughed down myself. Twice! I tell ya the job of a police officer is way more dangerous than yours." Drew looked smugly at Johnny.

"What? You've got to be kidding me! I just walked through the fire to bring out a pretty young college girl and you think a couple of over anxious drivers is more dangerous than that?" He rose up to his full 6'1" height and looked squarely in Drew's eyes. "There is no way you can top that Mr. Policeman!"

"Oh sure I can hose jockey… try that hold up we were called out to before we came over here. Shots were fired and everything. We were lucky the perp was a terrible shot." Drew smiled.

"Well at least you can see your perp. Have you ever seen a living breathing fire seep back into the cracks on the wall only to leap out at you again from somewhere else? Or run your ass off trying to escape a backdraft?" Johnny smiled too.

Scotty started laughing at the two young men bantering over whose job was the most dangerous. "Ah I see you two have begun the never ending debate of which job is the most dangerous… that of a policeman or that of a fireman. Boys let me tell you… neither of you will ever top the other and the contest changes all the time. It's a no win situation. You may as well give up now." He clasped them both by the shoulder and laughed again. "Come on Boot, time to go."

"Well we may not settle this argument, but I'm still gonna show you who is better at the lanes." Drew reached out a hand of truce.

Johnny shook Drew's hand. He liked this guy. "Sure you will… after I beat your pants off."

"You better get ready to buy those steaks." Drew called back as he walked back to his post.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… you wish." Johnny called out as he climbed up to his jump seat.

Captain Jones and Bill joined Scotty in laughing at the two friends and their friendly banter. Johnny looked at his crew mates and started laughing with them. Captain Jones leaned back in his seat happy to see the change in his Boot. Johnny had grown from a timid recruit to an accomplished lineman and hopefully soon to be his newest addition to the Rescue Squad.