Chapter Four
In the warehouse, the jack had been brought down by six paramedics who were now checking on Vin, JD and Chris.
"We need to get this off of them," one of the firefighters said "You ready?"
The paramedics nodded and the firefighters placed the jack between Chris and JD and started jacking it up.
"Bring one of those boards over here," they shouted.
They inserted a thick board under the concrete along with two cinder blocks while they moved the jack between JD and Vin and did the same thing.
Pain coursed through Chris' body as the weight was finally lifted and he passed out.
"Bring in the backboard," one paramedic yelled.
The strapped a neck brace on Chris and splinted both legs. As they placed the backboard beside him, they rolled him carefully onto his side, slid the board under him, then laid him back on it, strapping him on. Then they placed him on a gurney and hurried over to where others were waiting. They tied ropes to the front and back of it and the men up top started hauling it upwards. Two of the paramedics followed up the ladder.
The ambulance carrying Ezra rolled away, sirens blaring. Buck and the others turned back to the scene just as paramedics came out carrying Chris between them.
"How is he?" Josiah asked as they got nearer.
"He's stable," said the one has the other got the stretcher out of the ambulance. "He passed out when the concrete was lifted off of him."
Josiah decided to ride in the ambulance with Chris while Buck and Nathan waited on news about Vin and JD.
"We have a problem," one of the firefighters said as he shone a flashlight under the concrete. "There's a piece of metal in his leg."
"Send for the saw," another one said in his walkie..
"Let's get the other out," Paramedic Jim Williams said as he checked Vin's vitals. "He's stabilized."
They put a neck brace on Vin and soon had him strapped to a board and was soon on his way out of the building.
"Where are they going with that?" Buck asked as a firefighter ran to the warehouse with a saw.
"That can't be good," Nathan said as they watched him disappear.
Vin was barely conscious as they headed out of the building but when he saw the saw, he knew JD was in trouble.
"There's Vin," Buck said as paramedics came out with him and hurried over to them.
"How you doing Vin?" Nathan asked putting a hand on Vin's arm.
"Been better," he answered as pain flared up his left leg as they transferred him to the stretcher.
"How's JD?" Buck asked the paramedic as they put Vin in the back of the ambulance.
"They're having a hard time getting him out," he said. "They found a piece of metal in his leg. That's why they sent for the saw."
"Go on to the hospital with Vin," Nathan told Buck. "I'll wait here for them to get JD out and I'll come in with him."
"You sure?" Buck said.
Josiah waved him off and he climbed into the ambulance and it was soon on its way to the hospital.
Ezra had been at the hospital ten minutes when the ambulance carrying Chris arrived. The doctor on staff and nurses was waiting as the driver jumped out and opened the back doors.
"He has fractures to both legs," the driver said. "Possible head injury he was pinned underneath a piece of concrete for over an hour BP is 103/64. Pulse 86 and respiration is 24 and labored."
"Let's get him into two," Dr. Miller said. "Rose, get ahold of x-ray and tell them we need them here with the portable machine as soon as they can."
"There's two more coming in from the same accident," Nathan said to Dr. Miller. "Vin and JD was also trapped, just like Chris."
"Thank you, Nathan," Dr. Miller said. "If you wait out in the waiting room, I'll be out soon. Ezra's on his way to x-ray now."
Nathan turned and left, sinking into a chair nearest the TV which was tuned into the news, where a reporter was live at the scene.
"We do have confirmation that seven members of ATF was in the building at the time of the explosion," Jean Sothers was saying. "Three was able to come out on their own. One was taken to Denver Memorial about twenty minutes ago. Five minutes later, another member was put into a ambulance. We still have no word on the other two. I'll keep you updated on more as it comes available."
"Thanks Jean," the news anchor said. "Hopefully, everyone is going to make it out."