SWAT Kats: Ladder 150 and Engine 42
Chapter 1: 'The Pumpkin Pie and The Twinkie'
In a metropolis like MegaKat City, there is one hazard that has plagued many a city but will always be one of civilizations biggest problems. You know what it is? Fire. It takes an army to make sure MegaKat City doesn't burn to the ground. I'm proud to be part of those ranks. I am Firefighter Molly O'Malley of Ladder 150. My friends call me 'Pumpkin Pie'
Why you may ask? Well, I'm a ginger-kat from my curly locks to my green eyes. My fur-color reminds my friends of a pumpkin pie. I'm 6ft and 205lbs as well as being a manx by breed. My job is simple: 'if you're running out, I'm running in'. My friends and I share a station with Engine Company 42. We work well together. Everyone is my family here.
When the SWAT Kats themselves stop by and say that we're the best, then you know it's true. We get the same praise from Callie Briggs too. From the Enforcers? Not so much. It's the rigs, isn't it? Well, it's one of the reasons why some little kittens out there want to be firefighters. We got the good ones let me tell you. The fancy term is 'fire apparatus'
The pride and joys of our companies are a 2023 Seagrave Marauder II with a mid-mounted Aerialscope for Ladder 150, and a 2020 Ferrara Super Pumper for Engine Company 42. Around the station, our rigs are known as the 'Ladies' because you got to treat them right from polishing the fenders to making sure all of our equipment is in working order.
"Hey, the rig's looking good," said the other she-kat.
"So says the Talking Twinkie," I quipped at my best friend
"Hey, I like my fur-color the way it is, just like you" she darted back while I was polishing the aerial unit, "and Twinkies are awesome" it's all in good fun. That is Melissa Roberts, but all the tom-kats in Engine Company 42 and Ladder 150 call her 'Twinkie' because of her golden-brown fur, the fact she is a blond, and her stubby tail looks just like a Twinkie
Melissa is in Engine Company 42. She is my equal in height and weight. She has brown eyes to my green eyes. Melissa is also convinced that I'm a 'strawberry blond', but no no I'm a ginger-kat. The captain of our two companies is Gordon Grayson. Everyone calls him 'Smokie' for his short grey fur. He has been a firefighter since I was a kitten in diapers
"Not bad O'Malley," said the middle-aged captain
He has seen it all. You don't question his ability to lead, you just follow him. He is your friend at the station, and he is your buddy in the middle of the action. When we do the 'Buddy System' when going into a burning building, you know it's getting bad when he is the one to tap you on the shoulder to say 'let's get out of here, it's getting too dangerous'
"Really? Thank you," I replied with the rag in my paw
"Yeah, I can use the hubcaps when I shave in the morning," he joked, he is an American Shorthair with light brown eyes. He treats everyone fairly around the station, but when the call to action sounds, he is the first out of the station in his all-white uniform and he is the last to leave a burning building once the fire is out. He'll never give up on anyone.
That's the thing about being a firefighter. When you wear that dark blue uniform whether it's our dress uniforms to the t-shirts and khaki pants with the black leather boots, you are a part of a family. This old fire station too has seen generations of firefighters going back to those days when fire engines were steam-powered and pulled by teams of horses
I soon heard "That thong-thong-thong-thong-thong"
"Really, Chauncy? Sisqo? Brings me back to middle school"
Chauncy Philips is a Chantilly-Tiffany, and the 'Station Clown'. He is a good firefighter, and a good tom-kat with a sense of humor. He was a tom-kat who had my back when I was a 'probie', and the other fire-fighters were picking on me for such little things as the toilet paper not being on the roller "Oh c'mon admit it, Molls, it's a catchy tune" he said
"So is 'It's a Small World After All' and that song is considered 'cruel and unusual punishment'," I replied, a shiver went down his spine at the mention of that one. The other tom-kats in Ladder 150 include Rayne Clawfield, Remy Chartreux, and Bobby Maine. The tom-kat firefighters for Engine 42 are Tim Tabbyton, Ira Whiskey, and Chauncy Philips
Just as I finished putting all the equipment away, the alarm sounded. I dropped what I was doing, and put into my steel-toe rubber boots and Nomex pants and jacket. With my helmet as the last touch after the tom-kats slid down the brass pole, and into their gear. We were out of the station with sirens sounding and horns blasting in less than a minute.
The fax machine gave us a report of a structure fire at South and Mane Street. That's near the MegaKat City Industrial Complex. We arrived on the scene of a structure fire on the 3rd floor of a small office building. Luckily, the kats got out in time and were being treated by EMS-kats at an ambulance. With hoses coupled and outriggers down, it's our turn
(Note: Molly O'Malley is partly modeled after Fran from Litterbox Comics)
