August 1st – 7.30 PM
Operator: 9-1-1 what is your emergency?
Male voice: there is a fire at my dorm. The kitchen is all burning. Please send someone.
Operator: sir can you give me your name?
Male voice: my name is Jonas Olsen.
Operator: what is your address, Justin?
Male voice: I'm at the Santa Monica youth hostel.
Operator: The fire department is on their way, Justin.
Santa Monica youth hostel
The firetruck from Station 118 pulls up in front of the burning youth hostel. There is thick dark grey smoke coming out from under the roof and from the windows on the 1st floor. The moment Captain Nash and his team jump out of the truck Buck and Eddie start preparing the ladder to reach the 1st floor while Hen and Chimney prepare for search and rescue for the remaining people in the building.
"Hen and Chimney gear up. Buck, Diaz on the ladder." Captain Nash orders. His team starts following his command as Sergent Athena Grant from the LA police department comes over to Captain Nash together with a young man. The young man has clearly been inside the fire. There are dark spots on his gray hoodie and his face.
"captain" Sergent Grant calls. "We have a witness. This is Jonas Olsen. He called it in". Sergent Grant introduces. "Jonas tell Captain Nash what happened."
"sir" Jonas is standing in attention position as in the military.
"At ease, Jonas" Athena tells him.
"yes ma'am," Jonas says and stands more relaxed as he turns his attention to Captain Nash. "Sir. I am firefighter Jonas Olsen. I am a volunteer firefighter in Denmark. I discovered the fire."
"Are there still people in the building?" Captain Nash asks.
"Negative sir. I tried to contain the fire but without the proper gear I was unsuccessful and determined to prioritize saving lives over material."
"Good decision." Captain Nash says and immediately turns to his team. Buck and Eddie have already started to pull out the ladder. "Hen, Chimney go in to contain the fire. no people in the building."
"copy that captain." Hen replies.
Captain Nash turns his attention back to Jonas and Sergent Grant.
"Can you walk me through what happened?" Captain Nash asks.
"yes sir. The smoke detector went off in the kitchen. I went in there and saw the kitchen was empty but a stow was left on. There is a gas stove in the kitchen used by guests."
"wait." Sergent Grant interrupts. "Are you saying the stove was left on with an open flame unattended?"
"Yes, Ma'am." "The stove was on there was a pan with food on but flames were coming out of the food. It appeared from what I could determine to be maybe some potatoes in oil. Possibly making fries. But there were no people in the kitchen. I placed a lid on the pan to keep the oil from burning and then grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to contain the fire while I also dialed 99. The fire had already cut onto both the wooden window panels and the ceiling. That was when I determined to get everyone out instead of trying to contain the fire."
"How long have you been a firefighter?" Captain Nash asks. he is quite impressed with the young man's observations and assessments of the situation.
"I completed my training last week sir. I am here in LA for 2 weeks before I start a job as a full-time firefighter in my hometown, Sir."
"Outstanding work, firefighter Olsen." Captain Nash says.
"Thank you, sir," Jonas says formally but he can't hide the pride on his face from being complemented by a trained fire captain. "I am not trained to make assessments on what to prioritize, and I apologize if I put anyone's lives at risk by deciding to not stay and try and contain the fire, but I thought."
"Firefighter Olsen." Captain Nash says to interrupt the young man. "Do you know what the two main causes of death for a firefighter are?"
"No sir."
"1. Being overly confident and 2. Doubting yourself." The young man nods. "The number 1 priority for a firefighter is always to save lives first. You made the right decision. I would have done the same. You got everyone out. Outstanding work." Captain Nash walks over to his team and leaves the young man with Sergeant Grant.
"ma'am if I can be of any help with basic first aid and medical treatment, please let me know." Jonas offers. Both Sergeant Grant and Jonas turn to look at the big group of young people sitting and standing around in the area in front of the burning building. Sergeant Grant notices a young woman, in her mid-20's who is sitting on a chair in the middle of the parking lot. She is wearing big thick sunglasses and a very short colorful dress and nice slippers. She is staring at her phone, while not seeming to notice at all what is happening around her. She doesn't even seem to be affected by the fire at all. She is leaning back on the chair as if she is sunbathing in the middle of the parking lot.
"Jonas, is that woman a guest at the hostel?" Sergen Grant asks and points towards the woman seemingly oddly out of place in the crow of scared people and hurt people.
"Oh yes," Jonas says. He seems to know her but not in a positive way. Sergen Grant turns to Jonas to get him to elaborate. "I don't mean to be disrespectful and as a firefighter, it is not our job to judge people."
"but…" Sergent Grant asks.
Jonas signs heavily before he speaks. "She is known in the hostel as the princess of Egypt."
"I take she is not an actual princess?" Sergeant Grant says. already looking a little suspicious towards the young woman.
"No ma'am. She just behaves like one. She, just like the rest of us has been here for a week. we are here to do volunteer work. Everyone noticed her the first night we got here. She demands other people to get stuff for her. She demands to have a special chair in the common area. On the first night, she demanded someone in her room move to a different bed because she didn't want to sleep in the bed, she was assigned. It was something about the light coming in the wrong way on her face in the morning and the smell from the bathroom moving round in the room in the wrong way or something."
"I get it she is a demanding diva." Sergeant Grant concludes. Jonas nods. Sergeant Grant has heard enough. She is more than familiar with the princess diva type. "What is her name?"
"Her first name is Lorena. Last name, unknown."
"Thank you, Jonas. Go get a bottle of water and get checked out by the paramedic."
"Yes ma'am."
Sergeant Grant puts on her sunglasses and takes a deep breath before she starts walking over to Lorena. Sergeant Grant is standing right in front of Lorena, but she doesn't seem to notice her.
"Excuse me miss. LAPD I'm Sergeant Grant. May I speak with you please?" Sergeant Grant is waiting but she doesn't get an answer. Lorena is staring at her phone. Sergeant Grant takes a step to the side so she is blocking for the sun on Lorena's face and now she seems to get the young woman's attention.
"Excuse you. you are shadowing the sun on me." Lorena says without looking away from her phone. Sergeant Grant takes the phone from her and holds out her badge.
"LAPD. I need to ask you a few questions."
"About what?" Lorena asks. Sergeant Grant looks towards the building where flames are coming out from the windows.
"The fire." Sergeant Grants says in an obvious tone.
"Oh…" Lorena takes her phone back from Sergeant Grant. "I don't know what happened."
Sergeant Grant takes the phone again. "let me guess you were looking at your phone when the fire started?"
"I don't know. I guess some idiot burned my food."
"so you were in the kitchen when the fire started?" Sergeant Grant asks.
"no." Lorena answers trying to take her phone back but is unsuccessful. "I was in the main area."
"but you said you were making food?" Sergeant Grant asks a bit confused.
"yes, my food was cooking in the kitchen, obviously." Sergeant Grant can imagine perfectly how Lorena is rolling her eyes under the big sunglasses.
"but you were not in the kitchen?" Sergeant Grant asks.
"no," Lorena answers in an obvious tone. "You don't need to be in the kitchen while the food is cooking."
"you do when there is open flames." Sergeant Grant is starting to lose her patience with Lorena.
"I couldn't stay there the whole time." Lorena is clearly getting irritated too with not getting her phone back.
"So where were you while your food was coking over open flames in the kitchen?"
"In the shared area. It is the only place in this hotel with decent chairs."
A young woman wearing a grey sweatshirt and hot pants comes over to Lorena with a bottle of water.
"This is not cold," Lorena says when she receives the bottle and immediately hands it back to the woman. "Get me some fires, please. Since someone burned mine." The young woman shares a look with Sergeant Grant that tells Sergeant Grant that she is just as irritated with the diva attitude as Sergeant Grant is. The young woman walks away with the water without saying a word.
"So, you left your food on the stove because there are no good chairs in the kitchen?" Sergeant Grant asks although she has already gotten a pretty good idea about what exactly happened.
"Yeah obviously. Do you expect me to sit on some shitty chair and stare at my food for like hours?" again Sergeant Grant can imagine how Lorena is rolling her eyes.
"Stand up, please." Sergeant Grant orders while she is taking out her handcuffs. Lorena just simply looks up at her.
"yeah, I don't think so."
Sergeant Grant takes Lorena's arm and pulls her to her feet.
"You are under arrest for criminal negligees and for endangering the life and safety of others."
"I did like nothing. You can't do this."
"that is the problem that you did nothing." Sergeant Grant says as she walks Lorena to a police car. Two uniformed officers take Lorena into their car and drive off with her.
A few hours later Sergeant Grant meets up with the firefighter team as they are packing up.
"so I saw you made an arrest." Captain Nash states.
"yes. criminal negligence. A princess from Egypt left a pot of oil and fries on the stove of open flames and left because there were no good chairs in the kitchen."
"Excuse me Sergeant" Firefighter Hen Wilson comes over to Sergeant Grant and Captain Nash. "Are you saying a hostel with almost 150 guests burned down due to…"
"shitty chairs." Sergeant Grant quotes from Lorena. "Yes. Criminal diva-ism." Sergeant Grant says with a look of resignation. "what is happening with young people?" Sergeant Grant asks.
"Not everyone is like that." Captain Nash says and directs Sergeant Grant's attention to the young firefighter Jonas Olsen who is walking around handing water to everyone and talking with everyone.
"thank god for that." Sergeant Grant says as Captain Nash places a caring arm around her shoulders.
"Who is that?" firefighter Buckley asks as he joins Sergeant Grant, Captain Nash, and Firefighter Wilson together with the rest of the team.
"that is firefighter Olsen. He was first on the scene. Got everyone out." Sergeant Grant explains while proudly looking at the young man who is wrapping an emergency blanket about a young girl who is strongly affected by the events.
"saved 150 people on his first response to a fire." Captain Nash says.
"not bad for a first call." Hen joins in.
"no not bad at all." Captain Nash agrees.
