(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)
Fire in the Oven
Cinder was sound asleep. While the crews at Station 25 worked on a rotating shift, Cinder did not. Technically, she was on a day type rotation where she was on call for a day and then off. But, she just chained days together to almost always be on duty. Reason number one was because she loved her job. Reason number two was her job was really her life. With no family in Heartland and no close friends, Cinder just never felt the need to do anything else. Thirdly, her apartment never really felt like home to Cinder. Sure, she had things there like a bed and home decor to make it exactly to her liking, but it just always felt so empty. Marshall's pup house in Adventure Bay felt more like a home to Cinder than her own apartment. Her real home in Heartland was Station 25, with the constant bustle of her teams going through their routines and responding to emergencies. And Cinder was happy with that arrangement. And so on any given night, you were more likely to find Cinder in her bed in her office than at her apartment.
Cinder's sleep was shattered by the station alarm sounding.
"WE HAVE A REPORT OF A STRUCTURE FIRE AT EAGLE'S NEST APARTMENTS, ALL UNITS RESPOND CODE 3, QUINT 23 ASSIGNED AS SUPPORT."
Instantly fully awake, Cinder ran into the vehicle bay to get dressed out. Despite having been in a fairly deep sleep, there was no sign of fatigue in the Dalmatian as she hopped into Engine 25 faster than either Misty or Shadow. As they departed, Cinder did her customary review of the data available before briefing her team.
"Quint 23 online, ETA 6 minutes" cracked over their assigned tactical radio channel.
"Alright team" Cinder softly began, "the fire is in a fifth floor apartment on the alley side between Eagle's Nest and the neighboring mall. Quint 23, deploy down the alley and get your ladder up to the window, evacuation is not complete so be prepared to conduct a rescue before or while combating the fire. Engine 25, setup at the main entrance and send both teams inside. Medic 25, setup at the entrance as well in order to treat any patients, we'll use the lobby as a triage area as required." Cinder received a trio of acknowledgements so she continued to work through alternate plans in her head as they drove.
Engine 25 and Quint 23 arrived at opposite ends of the street at the same time, causing cars and people to scatter put of their way as they passed each other on their way to their designated positions. At the front of the building, Camille, Paul, Misty and Shadow quickly got their SCBA packs on while Capt Matt and Cinder ran straight inside to get more details from the building staff. In the alley, the Quint 23 crew maneuvered the bigger truck into position; there was barely enough room for them to setup the outriggers properly to put the ladder up. However, there was a complication.
"Cinder, we have a problem" Quint 23's LT's voice crackled through the radio, "we don't have enough supply hose to reach the nearest fire hydrant."
"Copy," Cinder replied softly, "come get what you need off Engine 25, daisy chain the pump if you have to and add the spare hoses. You'll have to use your crew as the Engine 25 crew is already inside."
"Copy that, on our way" came the response.
"I have a feeling that they will need to daisy chain the pump" Capt Matt said from beside Cinder. "There is no way that they can get 6 supply hoses in one chain with enough pressure to supply their nozzles."
"You may have to move the engine to have enough reach, depending on how far down the alley they are" Cinder softly replied.
"Two hoses from the hydrant to the engine at the corner and then four down the alley?" Matt asked.
"Sounds about right" Cinder softly replied, "I hope you remember how to drive the engine."
"Please, I was a fantastic driver back in the day" Capt Matt scoffed, "and I'll help them get the daisy chain setup too; our pump can be a bit persnickety in a daisy chain." Cinder nodded and watched Capt Matt get to work.
"Cinder, we've reached the fifth floor" Camille's voice crackled over the radio. "The whole floor is filling with smoke, Misty and Paul are going to verify the floor is evacuated while Shadow and I rig for entry."
"Copy that, be careful" Cinder softly acknowledged. Something didn't quite seem right but she couldn't place her paw on it yet.
Cinder trotted to the corner of the alley to check on Quint 23's progress. They were still working on the daisy chain of hoses but their ladder had reached the Fifth floor.
"Cinder, ladder is up, breaching the window now" Quint 23's LT reported.
"Copy, break, Camille, make sure you are clear from the door."
"Clear" Camille reported.
Cinder watched as the firefighter on the top of the ladder carefully broke the glass, minimizing the amount of glass that fell to the alley below, and then started hosing down the apartment through the window. "Any change Camille?" Cinder softly asked.
"More smoke is filling the hallway" Camille replied. "We have verified the floor is clear and are ready to enter."
"Copy, breach the apartment. Spilt into two teams to verify the apartment is clear and engage the fire simultaneously."
"Understood" Camille replied.
Cinder mulled over the info she had as she walked over to Medic 25.
"Minor smoke inhalation, nothing fresh air won't fix" Sam reported without prompting as Cinder walked up.
"That is good" Cinder softly replied, "hopefully that is the worst we have to deal with."
"Any reason to suggest otherwise?" Alan asked.
"Nothing concrete" Cinder replied.
"You have that feeling again, don't you?" Sam asked with concern.
Cinder nodded, "I just can't place it."
"We'll keep an eye out on our end" Alan promised.
"Thanks" Cinder said as she turned and walked back towards Engine 25.
"Cinder, apartment verified empty, fire engaged, source is the gas stove" Camille reported.
"Roger that" Cinder acknowledged.
"Everything good?" Capt Matt asked as Cinder walked up.
"Yes, but that's just it" Cinder replied, slightly distracted.
"You have that feeling again, don't you?" Capt Matt asked.
"But everything seems exactly as it seems" Cinder softly half whined. She would never open up like this to anyone else on either company but Capt Matt had significant experience and the mentality to match. The only reason he worked for Cinder and not the other way around was because he had a special gift for training new LTs and that is what he wanted to keep doing. Capt Matt had gone from being Skipper's deputy to being Cinder's deputy which gave the two of them a special relationship.
"You are mentally working yourself into a tizzy trying to figure out what is about to go wrong, aren't you?" Capt Matt gently accused.
"No" Cinder softly asserted, "maybe…kind of?"
"I think the word you are looking for is 'yes'" Capt Matt gently laughed.
"Fine, yes I am" Cinder softly huffed.
"I'll make you a deal, you can be in a tizzy once you can see the future" Capt Matt offered.
"Humph" Cinder softly grumped.
"I know you want to keep everyone safe Cinder" Capt Matt said gently, resting a hand on Cinder's head and giving her a gentle rub. "You are a great Fire Captain, don't let this feeling distract you from the fire at hand."
"But the feeling is about the fire at hand" Cinder softly objected.
"I know," Capt Matt replied, "and you'll figure it out once you stop getting worked up about it and take a step back."
Cinder cocked her head thoughtfully. "Thanks Matt" she softly said.
"Happy to help my favorite pup" Capt Matt replied, "but if you say that to anyone else I'll denounce it as a complete fabrication."
Cinder softly laughed for a moment before her radio crackled again.
"Cinder, we have the fire mostly out" Camille reported, "but there is stubborn spot behind the oven that's refusing to cool down at all. I checked it from the adjoining apartment and while it is hot, it is no where near the same level."
"I copy Camille" Cinder softly replied, "keep after it."
"Sounds like the gas line isn't secured" Capt Matt said, "but I verified with the manager that the gas supply for the fourth, fifth and sixth floors is secured."
A lightbulb clicked in Cinder's head, "unless a shutoff valve is damaged or broken in which case…" Cinder didn't bother to finish the thought and instead sprinted toward the emergency shut-off valve for the whole building, with Capt Matt running after her.
Cinder reached the emergency shut off first, jumped up and hit the button. Nothing happened. Turning to the valve itself, Cinder pushed on the handle as hard as the could but it wouldn't budge. Capt Matt ran up and added his strength but the valve still refused to even wiggle.
"Find the tertiary" Cinder softly barked. She and Capt Matt began scanning all the nearby manhole covers for any indication of which had the fire safety valve.
"Here" Captain Matt said, pulling up a small rectangular cover.
As soon as there was enough space, Cinder dove down and pulled the special key out one of her pockets. Inserting the key, Cinder quickly turned it, setting off another alarm at the dispatch center.
"Light Force 25, Dispatch, we are showing a gas line emergency bypass valve shut at your scene" Cinder's radio squawked.
"Light Force 25 confirms" Cinder softly replied, "will provide an update when able."
"That got someone's attention" Capt Matt said dryly.
"Let's hope that it works and we don't have to get technical to kill the whole block" Cinder softly replied as she removed her key and they made their way back towards Engine 25. "They already will not be happy about the valve."
"If it did exactly what it was supposed to do, no one can ask for more than that" Capt Matt replied philosophically.
"Fair" Cinder softly replied.
"Cinder, the fire just died out" Camille reported, shock evident in her voice.
"Copy, commence overhaul" Cinder softly replied. She stopped and sat down next to the pump control panel on Engine 25.
"I know that look" Capt Matt said as he leaned against the truck. "You think something fishy is going on."
"I'm going into this with no such assumptions" Cinder softly replied, "and with both eyes open."
"Such a correct answer" Capt Matt softly laughed. "Since you won't say it, I will. I find it highly unlikely that only shutoff valve that worked was the only one that can't be tampered with without anyone knowing about it."
Cinder nodded in tacit agreement. The two Fire Captains racked their brains in silent tandem while they waited for the overhaul report.
"Overhaul complete" Camille finally reported.
"Copy, on my way up" Cinder softly replied over her radio. "Quint 23, you are released as soon as you break down."
"Understood" Quint 23's LT replied.
"Dispatch, Light Force 25, fire is out, will follow up with Technical dispatch requirements" Cinder softly reported.
"Dispatch copies."
Cinder nodded to Capt Matt before she headed towards the front door. He would stay and help break down the daisy chain while she took a look inside. A silent shadow watched her go. As she walked inside, she overheard the manager and the front desk person talking.
"You know, while it sucks that their apartment caught fire, at least they weren't here for it."
"Yeah, but it will totally ruin their vacation."
Cinder skidded to a stop in surprise, "sorry, did you just say that the renters of that apartment that caught fire are not here?" she asked softly.
"That would be correct Captain" the front desk associate replied. "They left early this morning on a vacation to Hawaii. They are about to start trying to have kids and wanted to take a second honeymoon."
"By chance do you know exactly when they left?" Cinder softly asked.
"Not off the top of my head but I can get it for you" he replied.
"Do you think something is wrong Captain?" The manager asked.
"I don't know" Cinder softly replied, "we will see." With that, Cinder headed up the stairs to the scene of the fire.
The apartment was devastated by the fire. Cinder gingerly stepped over the charred remains, her boots crunching on the remains of drywall, wood and personal belongings. Cinder slowly walked through the entire apartment; nothing was untouched by the fire. Cinder ended her initial tour in the small kitchen where the damage was the worst.
As would be expected by a fire starting in the oven, the cabinets above were burned so badly that they looked as if they would collapse if you breathed on them while the ones below were piles of charred wood scraps. Cinder picked her way over to the oven itself, the suspected point of ignition.
The oven was barely recognizable. The metal had been melted and deformed so completely that you couldn't tell the original color or even the type of oven. What was clear was that the entire oven had been exposed to extreme heat. The hottest point appeared to be where the igniter and gas regulator resided. But as Cinder looked at the melted remains, the feeling got stronger as she found something unusual.
"Shadow, Misty, get the tape" Cinder said softly, "tape off the apartment, adjoining apartments, all the gas shut-off valves and controls. And tell the staff not to touch anything."
"You got it Cinder" Misty replied and the two pups headed down to the truck. Cinder took one last look at the oven before she keyed her radio, "Dispatch, Light Force 25, request arson and technical forensic support."
"Dispatch copies, remain on scene until relieved."
"Light Force 25 copies" Cinder softly replied. Like we would do anything else Cinder thought to herself.
Given that it was the middle of the night, Cinder was pleasantly surprised when Augie and Darrell arrived before her team had finished cleaning up. "Got another doozie for us?" Augie asked as they walked up.
"You could say that" Cinder softly replied, "where is Claire?"
"On her way" Darrell replied, "she should be here shortly."
"Ok, I'll wait until she gets here before I fill you in then" Cinder softly replied.
"A late night tease?" Augie asked while cocking his head to the side with a grin.
"More like complicated and convoluted" Cinder softly said, ignoring his quip, "I hope you brought your notebooks."
"I knew we forgot something" Darrell joked with a laugh.
"Even if you did, I have us covered" Claire said as she walked in, "where are you taking us first?"
"May as well start at the source" Cinder softly said as she led them up the stairs.
The team carefully picked their way across the debris to the kitchen. "Seems fairly aggressively burnt for a simple oven fire" Augie observed.
"I wouldn't use the word simple to describe this fire" Cinder softly said, before pointing to the back of the oven with her paw.
"That is something you don't see every day" Claire said dryly as she examined the oven. The whole back panel was melted inward, which didn't match a fire starting in the oven. Furthermore, the wall behind the oven was practically disintegrated right next to where the gas line entered the apartment but showed normal levels of fire damage everywhere else. As Claire shined her flashlight into the hole in the wall, a perfectly neat hole appeared in the supply pipe just before it turned 90 degrees to enter the apartment.
"That has definitely been tampered with" Claire started as she took pictures.
"There is more" Cinder softly added, "this building exceeds all the latest fire safety building codes. The gas line for each floor is segregated into zones, each floor can also be isolated, and they have the triple redundant emergency shut-off valves."
"Ok, so what is strange there?" Darrell asked.
"The only shut-off valve that worked was the tertiary" Cinder softly revealed. "I verified that the control system had isolated all three zones on this floor and the floors directly above and below, I hit the automatic shut-off, and Capt Matt and I combined couldn't turn the manual shut-off. To cap all of it off, the renters of this apartment flew out of town early this morning for Hawaii."
"Which means there was no way for them to have left the oven on and have it start a fire like this one this many hours later" Claire concluded. "We are going to need a technical forensics team" she continued before pulling out her cell phone to call dispatch and confirm.
"Cinder, who told you that the renters were not here?" Augie asked.
"The front desk attendant and the manager" Cinder softly replied, "we should go talk to them."
"Right now too, before they forget any specifics" Augie confirmed.
Augie and Darrell headed down to the lobby to start asking while questions while Cinder and Claire stayed in the apartment to keep investigating. "I wonder how that hole got there" Claire thought out loud.
"From the adjacent apartment maybe?" Cinder softly speculated, "I haven't been over to inspect that side yet." Cinder activated the flashlight on her helmet and poked her head into the hole. "It looks like the next door apartment is a mirror, I can see a gas line leading out the wall. I can't really tell if a section was cut out recently though."
"Let's go take a look from the other side then" Claire said as Cinder removed herself from the hole in the wall. The two of them walked around to the other side and peered behind the oven. "The whole thing looks brand new" Claire noted.
"It smells brand new too" Cinder said softly, "we should have the boys in blue look into that too, maybe this was replaced recently and that was a cover for the insertion."
"Maybe" Claire replied, "plausible at least."
As Claire and Cinder walked out, they ran into the technical investigation lead, an older gentleman dressed in blue coveralls. "Hey Claire" he said warmly, offering his hand, "I hear you have some special work for my guys and gals."
"We do Ted" Claire replied, returning the handshake, "but first, let me introduce Capt Cinder, she…"
"Requires no introduction" Ted said as he bent down to offer his hand to the Fire Captain Pup. "Let's just say that Capt Cinder is awesome and move forward. What can I do for two you lovely ladies?"
"You can figure out what is going on with the gas system for the building" Cinder softly said. "The individual floor isolations, the automatic valve for the building and the manual shut-off for the building all failed."
"Seems a tad suspect" Ted said, "but if something is wonky, we'll find it."
"Thanks Ted, we appreciate that" Claire said, turning to continue down stairs to the front desk.
"Before you go," Ted added, "can I borrow you for a moment Cinder? We have a puppy at home who wants to be just like you when she grows up, and I was hoping I could grab a selfie with you."
"Sure" Cinder replied softly with a smile on as she walked up next to Ted who knelt down to her level. Ted snapped a picture of them with his phone before standing back up.
"Thanks Cinder" Ted said gratefully, "this will mean so much to her."
"My pleasure" Cinder softly replied before heading down the stairs with Claire. "That was new" Cinder softly mused once they were a few floors away.
"I know Augie had the talk with you" Claire laughed lightly, "maybe it will sink in a bit more now how special you are Cinder."
"I don't know about that" Cinder softly replied, "I'm just a simple pup trying to make my way in the universe."
Claire laughed so hard she almost fell down the stairs. "It is wonderful to be working with you" she said when she regained her composure.
In the lobby, Darrell and Augie were still talking with the front desk attendant and manager when Claire and Cinder walked up.
"Do you really think foul play is involved Captain?" The manager asked.
"We don't know" Cinder softly replied, "we have to do our due diligence and find the truth whatever it might be. Did the next door apartment have the oven replaced recently?"
"I'm not sure if this counts as recently" he replied, "but the oven was replaced six or nine months ago."
"It was nine months," the front desk attendant confirmed, pulling up the record on their computer system. "According to their complaint, there was a strong smell of gas one day when they turned on the oven followed by a micro explosion when it finally ignited."
"That sounds like a failing igniter" Darrell said quizzically, "that would have been a quick fix instead of a much more costly replacement."
"That is what maintenance said as well" the front desk attendant read off the report, "but it seems the tenant was insistent on getting a new oven instead."
"Not unheard of" Claire said diplomatically, "can we get those maintenance records, along with those of the unit that burned?"
"You can have whatever you need" the manager replied.
"Thank you" Claire said with a smile.
At that moment, Capt Matt came running in. "Capt Cinder, we've got a call to respond to a car crash with a trapped victim."
"Let's roll then" Cinder softly ordered before turning to Claire.
"Go on then, we'll sync up with you later" Claire said with a wave. Cinder and Matt dashed out together and moments later sirens were screaming as they headed to the accident site.
As they pulled up to the crash, they found that the car had smashed into a street light which had them fallen over on top of the vehicle. "Ok team, time to go to work" Cinder softly barked as Engine 25 stopped, blocking the accident site from traffic while Medic 25 pulled around to the protected side.
Cinder watched as her team jumped out and immediately got to work rigging the jaws of life. Meanwhile, Sam and Alan worked to stabilize the driver of the vehicle through the windows. Cinder glanced at their dispatch computer and noted that a flatbed tow truck was already on the way.
Carefully, Paul cut the remaining power lines in the fallen street lamp so that it could be moved. Then, with help from Camille, Paul used the Jaws to cut the street lamp free from it's base. With a hefty shove, Misty and Shadow then pushed the street lamp off of the car. His work area clear, Paul immediately got to work cutting an access into the crashed car.
"We have to be quick" Sam told Captains Matt and Cinder, "he has lost a lot of blood and will lose consciousness soon if we don't get him out and a transfusion going."
The two Captains nodded but all of them knew that they couldn't rush. Barely three minutes later, Paul had the roof detached. The four firefighters tossed the roof off of the car and Sam began directing the team on the extraction. While they worked, Alan did his best to control the bleeding.
Loading the man into the stretcher, Sam and Alan worked in concert to get him ready for transport and a blood transfusion. Carefully, the man was loaded into the back of Medic 25. Monitors were hooked up in parallel with the IV for the blood transfusion. Sufficiently settled, Sam activated the siren as she sped Medic 25 to the hospital with their patient.
Just as Medic 25 departed, the tow truck from Technical rounded the opposite corner. The truck parked and out jumped a technician and a tech pup. "Looks like you've got a real mess here" the tech pup said, surveying the scene.
"Just a bit" Cinder agreed before the technician waved the tech pup over to get to work. The two techs worked efficiently to clean up the mess. First they used their winch to get the remains of the vehicle up onto the bed of their flatbed tow truck. Then, they covered all the spilled vehicle fluids with an absorbant sand. While that soaked, they dragged the street lamp up alongside the wrecked car with the winch, followed by the roof of the car. Then they secured the base of the street lamp so it was electrically safe. Finally, the Engine 25 crew helped the two techs to clean up the now saturated sand. When they were done, there were only some stains on the street marking the crash.
"Thanks for all your help" the tech pup said happily, "it would have taken much longer without your help."
"Our pleasure" Cinder softly replied before waving goodbye. It was a quick drive back to the station after that.
Unsurprisingly, Medic 25 was already back at the station. Cinder also noticed a red with blue stripe SUV and a black with blue stripe SUV parked out front. Walking into her office, Claire, Darrell and Augie all got quiet as she padded over to her desk.
"I'm not interrupting am I?" Cinder asked softly.
"No" Claire replied, "but we have some news."
"Ted is barely started on his part of the investigation" Darrell continued, "but he has already confirmed that the control system for the gas system in the apartment building, the automatic shut-off and the manual shut-off valve were all tampered with."
"We knew that already" Cinder softly replied.
"We suspected it," Augie clarified, "slight difference and it is surprising that Ted was able to confirm it so fast. It usually takes days, if not weeks."
"So we have a sloppy arsonist" Cinder softly declared, "hopefully that will make them easy to find."
"That is the downside" Darrell confessed, "this arsonist may have been technically sloppy, but he or she was very good at hiding their identity. We've barely started to investigate and already found a veritable rats nest of crisscrossed trails to untangle."
"All of which would indicate some who is good at hiding themselves but new to arson" Claire summarized.
"Well, hopefully they make a technical mistake somewhere that allows us to catch them" Cinder softly said.
Unbeknownst to any of them, a shadow heard every word. "Call me technically sloppy, will you? I'll show you what I can do" the shadow whispered to itself before slipping away into the night.
(A/N: For those of you tech-curious about these valves, here is the deal. The apartment building has an electronic control system to control the gas supply. Each apartment can be individually isolated and each floor is divided into three zones. In the event of a fire, the system isolates the affected apartment, adjoining apartments, the entire floor, the floor above and beyond he floor below. In addition, the building has three exterior shut-off valves. The first is a motor operated valve, controlled by a button to shut and then opened from the control panel inside one a code is entered. The second is a manually operated valve, right next to the automatic shut-off valve. The third shut-off valve is located under a cover on the sidewalk, similar to the water supply. This valve can only be shut using a special key carried on every fire engine and truck in the city, usually retained by the leader of that company. Additionally, this valve sends an alarm to the dispatch center when shut. After being shut, the valve can only be reset by a Technical division team.)
(A/N: Sorry this chapter is late! Please bear with me as life is quite busy right now. I will still endeavor to post a new chapter every two weeks but please be patient if I don't make that timeline.)