(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)
The Gas Burns
"What are you talking about?" Ashley asked Cinder, looking at the Dalmatian with confusion plain on her face.
"Something just happened to Marshall" Cinder softly repeated, lying very still on the floor. "Do you remember which one of us screamed in pain when I got hurt?"
"It was you" Ashley replied certainly, "you were the one with a piece of rebar sticking out of your side."
"Actually it wasn't Cinder" Rain said quietly, startling Ashley. "It was Marshall. I remember because I looked and him and he seemed fine but then teleported over to Cinder."
"Teleported?" Augie said incredulously.
"I don't have another way to describe it" Rain replied, "one moment he was lying on the ground and the next he was paws-deep in Cinder fighting to save her life."
"I know I lost consciousness before I hit the ground" Cinder softly recounted, "It was Marshall who shrieked because he felt it happening to me."
"There is no way he felt exactly what you felt" Augie insisted.
"You haven't been around them enough" Splash said with a short laugh, "they will blow your mind."
"Well, I can't find anything wrong with you" Ashley replied.
"I know" Cinder softly laughed as she stood up. She winced in visible pain before turning and walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Augie asked.
"To call Marshall and figure out what is going on" Cinder softly replied as she exited the vehicle bay.
All of them followed Cinder as she walked to her office. They waited respectfully in the doorway while Cinder dialed.
"The rescue pup you have dialed is on a mission right now. If this is an emergency, please dial, say or bark 911 to be connected to the nearest emergency response dispatch center" an automated voice answered.
Cinder clicked the phone to hang up before dialing a different number.
"The rescue pup you have dialed is…" Cinder clicked the phone off in annoyance.
"Of course both Marshall and Everest have a blocker on their tags when they are on a rescue" Cinder softly grumped.
"Are you going to call Ryder?" Ashley asked.
"No, he is probably the one who programed the blockers and his number would have the same unless reached via the emergency Paw Patrol line" Cinder softly surmised. "And while you could argue this is an emergency, I don't think interrupting them while in the middle of handling their emergency call is the best idea."
"So what are you going to do?" Augie asked. This whole situation was making him slightly dizzy.
"Ryder probably has a voicemail at least" Rain offered, "you could leave him a message."
"Maybe" Cinder softly considered, "I might do that if I don't hear anything by tonight."
"So now what?" Splash asked.
"We get back to work" Cinder softly replied, "we have a serial arsonist to find."
"Which reminds me," Rain said, "why did you think he was under the truck?"
Augie looked at Cinder before answering. "Just a hunch" he replied cryptically.
"Right, a hunch" Splash replied with a snort, "you don't see two pups dive under a fire engine and stick their fine…" The rest of whatever Splash was going to say was cut off by a perfectly aimed red tennis ball bouncing off her nose.
"We get it" Cinder softly said before Splash could say something else sassy. "We know stuff but we don't want to share it just in case."
"In case of what?" Rain asked.
"Just in case" Augie replied. "I know that isn't super helpful and you want to know, but this perpetrator is dangerous. We don't want to take any risks that we don't need to."
"I can understand that" Splash said with a shudder.
"Just let us know if you need anything" Ashley added. "Especially you Cinder, it may be Marshall's injury but if you need something to take the pain away, let me know."
"Yes mom" Cinder softly replied with a laugh. With that, Ashley, Rain and Splash left them alone.
"You know how insane it sounds that you can feel Marshall's pain from over 250 miles away, right?" the Belgian shepherd stated.
Cinder shrugged, "you don't know what you don't know."
"Now who is being cryptic" Augie teased, "maybe one day."
Cinder paused and looked into Augie's eyes for a moment. "Anyway," she softly sidestepped, "now that we know he isn't under my fire engine, do we tear apart the station just to be sure?"
"Probably not" Augie replied, "even if he was here, the best we can do is warn everyone to be on the lookout, which we have already done. We should get back to the precinct to see if Claire and Darrell have found anything more."
Cinder glanced at the time. "We should probably grab food on our way back over." Then the station alarm sounded. "Or not."
"WE HAVE A HOTEL FIRE AT THE OASIS, TASK FORCE 2 AND SUPPORT UNITS RESPOND CODE 3."
Without a word, Cinder bounded over her desk, out the door and into the vehicle bay, sending Augie spinning like a top.
"Come on Augie, you can ride me me" Skipper said as he helped the whirling void stop spinning. "Especially seeing as I won't be able to keep Cinder away from this one, you may as well enjoy the show."
"The show?" Augie said as he unsteadily trotted after Skipper towards the command SUV.
Cinder slid into her gear with practiced ease. Despite just returning from a previous call, her crew was energized and ready. Cinder smiled in pride as Engine 25 and Medic 25 were logged as the first units responding. As they drove, she began working through different scenarios in her mind and clicked the radio over to the Task Force 2 channel.
Augie was riding with Skipper, trailing Engine 25 and Medic 25. "You know, this is the first time I've actually responded to a fire directly" he said. "Usually I get there after it is already out or at the very least already engaged."
"Then this will be a special treat for you" Skipper replied, "because you'll get to see Cinder commanding the whole incident."
"She's doing what?" Augie yipped in surprise.
"I'm doing what?" Cinder softly yipped in surprise.
"You have command, Captain Cinder" Chief Henry informed her over the radio. "Task Force 2's Captain Alfred is out sick and a little birdy told me you are the best Fire Captain to graduate in the last five years. So let's see what you've got!"
"Some birdseed laced with super glue to keep that little birdy's beak shut" Cinder softly laughed. "Time to walk on the fire side!"
With that, Cinder laid out her deployment orders. She directed Ladder 2 to setup in front of the building and prepare for any rescues from the various balconies. Quint 23 and Quint 27 would setup on the front corners of the hotel to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings. Engines 2, 202, 21, 24, 28 and 29 would form the rest of the fire containment perimeter, using the alleys and service roads to encircle the hotel. Engines 25 and 26 would station at the front and back entrances respectively and execute any internal rescues. Finally, Medic 25 would station across the street from the main entrance and triage everyone who escaped the burning hotel.
As they parked, Cinder realized the twelve units under her command were not enough. Whatever had caused the fire, it was spreading faster than it should have and jets of flame were shooting out of many of the windows.
"Dispatch, Task Force 2," Cinder softly spoke into the radio, "first units on scene, fire is out of control, request available helicopters, air truck, rescue squad, and available industrial engines."
"I…disp…" the radio said brokenly and clearly shaken before going silent. The silence held on for a few moments, making Cinder wonder if dispatch had copied everything she needed or had fainted.
"Task Force 2, Dispatch" a different voice, much more sure if itself, responded "understand all, HELITAC 1 ETA 3 minutes, activating alert on HELITAC 3, ETA 45 minutes; AIR 3, SQUAD 31, ENGINEs 43 and 245 responding; standby of update on further industrial engine availability."
"Task Force 2 copies, standing by" Cinder softly responded. As she jumped off Engine 25, she hoped it would be enough.
Unbeknownst to anyone, across the street from the burning hotel, high up in a building, a shadow seethed. When he had entered the activation code on his device, he had not expected the system to immediately ignite the fire. Complicated and convoluted, the exact criteria that the system was supposed to validate before activating the fire was supposed to delay ignition for days, if not a week or more.
Instead, this fire had started right on the heels of his fire earlier that day. And to make matters worse, now he had to worry about his ignition device possibly not destroying itself in the process. In hind sight, he probably should have figured out that problem before starting any new fires. But then again, he thought he had time. Hindsight was always 20/20.
Then the shadow noticed something that sent chills down his spine. Grabbing his binoculars, he looked down to the street below and noticed who was taking charge. "No way" he quietly breathed as he lowered the binoculars, "I have to deal with this quickly, before it gets out of hand." With that, he vanished from his lookout position.
"Is there a manager or other staff here?" Cinder softly asked a crowd of people who had evacuated the burning hotel.
"I'm the manager" a short blonde woman replied as she stepped forward.
"Great, what can you tell me" Cinder softly asked.
"The fire started in the laundry room" the manager reported, "in the ventilation ducts of one of the industrial size dryers. We shut it down and activated the fire suppression system. But instead, the fire rapidly spread through the ventilation to the whole hotel."
"Is everyone out?" Cinder softly asked.
"No" the manager replied, showing Cinder her tablet. "We have over 300 guests checked in and have only heard from approximately two-thirds of them and some of the staff are missing as well. I can get you the room numbers if that helps."
"Very much so" Cinder softly replied, "the less searching we have to do, the better." Cinder beckoned to LT Joe with her paw.
"What do you need Capt?" LT Joe said as he joined them.
"25 has point on personnel search and rescue (SAR)" Cinder softly stated, "the manager here has the room numbers of all guests not accounted for and the last known locations of the missing staff. Work with her to get them out. 26 will provide one search team and the FAST." (Firefighter Assist and Search Team)
"Got it" LT Joe replied.
"Engine 26" Cinder softly spoke into her radio, "25 has lead for SAR, provide them one team and setup your second team for FAST."
"Engine 26 copies" came the prompt response.
Cinder tapped the manager of the shoulder to get her attention. "Do you have a lead technician or engineer?" she softly asked.
"Yes" the manager replied and beckoned over one of her team members.
"I'm the senior tech for this shift" a older gal introduced herself, "how can I help?"
"Walk me through all the fire protection systems installed and if they were activated or not please" Cinder softly requested.
"Sure thing" the senior technician replied. "The initial alarm was in the laundry room for a dryer ventilation fire. The ventilation system has a total flooding fire suppression system, using nitrogen and Novec 1230, which was immediately activated. This system is supposed to isolate laundry ventilation from the rest of the building before releasing the nitrogen and clean agent sequentially. Immediately after activation, fire alarms started activating throughout the ventilation system in the building. The laundry room also has a water mist system which was activated as soon as the fire started to spread. We immediately realized that the fire was spreading through the ventilation ducts and ordered the evacuation. At the same time, we activated the building sprinkler system."
"Interesting" Cinder softly replied.
"Yeah, interesting" the shadow growled to himself. He cursed his luck at having the Dalmatian leading the response to this fire, right after discovering his device at the gas station fire mere hours before. There was no doubt in his mind that his work would be discovered, turning his head skyward to watch a firefighting helicopter approach.
"Task Force 2, HELITAC 1, checking in, 1+30, 4 souls, full water load, awaiting tasking" the helicopter pilot reported over the radio.
"HELITAC 1, priority is to safe the roof in case we need to hoist someone off. Once drops are complete, load and return" Cinder softly ordered.
"HELITAC 1 copies" came the reply.
"Cinder" LT Joe called out, "we just heard from a couple of guests that are trapped. One family is about half way up on the front side of the building and the other is two floors from the top."
"Tell the family closest to the top to wait for the two water drops and head to the roof" Cinder softly directed, "how many in total?"
"Three" the manager replied.
Cinder nodded, "HELITAC 1, update, after your drops, standby to rescue 3 souls from the roof."
"HELITAC 1 copies."
"Is the family near the middle of the building in a room with a balcony and how many of them are there?" Cinder softly asked.
"Yes, four" the manager replied.
"Ok, have them move to the balcony" Cinder softly ordered. "Ladder 2, stand by for personnel extraction from a balcony, four souls."
"Understood" Ladder 2's Captain replied over the radio.
Cinder watched as the family, two adults and two kids, appeared on a balcony and the big platform ladder swiveled toward them. One by one the family crossed from the building to the platform.
"Cinder" Ashley called to the Dalmatian who turned to look at her, "there are too many injured for us to treat on our own. We need more paramedics and supplies."
"Got it, I'll get them" Cinder softly replied before keying her radio. "Dispatch, Task Force 2, activate Mass Casualty protocol, we need one of the big trucks if one is available."
"Dispatch copies, stand by…" Silence lingered on the net for a moment. "Mass Casualty Truck 2 ETA 15 minutes, sending all TF 2 Medics as well."
"Task Force 2 copies, stage them one block south of incident" Cinder softly requested before turning her attention back to the fire.
Ladder 2 was bringing the family down and HELITAC 1 had completed their water drops and was making an approach to the roof. A firefighter rescuer was lowered to the roof and one by one, the family was lifted into the helicopter.
"Task Force 2, HELITAC 1, 7 souls, 1+05, transporting Mercy, RTB, load and return."
"Task Force 2 copies" Cinder softly acknowledged.
Cinder turned and watched as the family that Ladder 2 had rescued made their way towards Ashley and Medic 25. The kids were very clearly terrified and it tore at Cinder's heart. But they were safe and that was what mattered for the moment.
"Cinder" LT Joe called out again, "we are making good progress on clearing rooms, but Rain and Splash are both reporting a strong smell of gas in the building."
"How than that be?" the lead technician asked, "we secured the supply to the building."
Without a word, Cinder took off, ignoring everyone's startled cries. Weaving between fire apparatuses and their crews, Cinder felt the heat of the fire through her gear. As she reached the sidewalk, a blast of heat blew out of the doors, forcing her to duck and pause for a moment.
Cinder scanned the sidewalk, looking for something. Then she saw it: the cover for the emergency shut off valve. She bolted toward it and was only a bound away from reaching the cover when a massive flashover blasted out of the first floor doors and windows, sending jets of superheated fire in all directions. The fire crews ducked down or took cover, but there was nothing Cinder could do as a jet of fire blasted her squarely.
"CINDER!" Skipper and Augie yelled simultaneously in horror as they watched, helpless to do anything as the Dalmatian disappeared from sight.
"She's going to be ok, right?" Augie yelped, borderline panicking.
Skipper said nothing, he knew full well the destructive power of that blast, so he just stared at where they had last seen Cinder.
"RIGHT?!" Augie begged Skipper to say something.
The flashover passed and the fire crews redoubled their attacks. Neither Skipper nor Augie could see Cinder.
"Where is she?" Augie yelped, looking around to try and find the Dalmatian.
Skipper, still silent, placed a hand on the Belgian Shepherd 's shoulder.
"No, no, NO! She has to be there!" Augie protested, searching for any evidence of Cinder's survival and finding none.
Suddenly, the fire started to rapidly die. Throughout the building, the fire that had been raging out of control quickly succumbed to the sprinklers and fire crews.
"What the heck?" Skipper said in startled surprise. He looked at Chief Henry, who was equally shocked, with his jaw hanging open.
"What just happened?" Augie asked in confusion, "where is Cinder?!"
A shadow picked itself off the ground, startling Skipper, Augie and Chief Henry even further. The shadow was shaped suspiciously like a pup. The three of them watched as the shadow approached them.
The all black shadow stopped before them and removed a blackened fire helmet, revealing barely singed black and white fur, complemented by bright blue eyes.
"Someone tampered with the gas system here too" Cinder softly said.
"CINDER!" Augie practically screamed in joy as he jumped at the fire-blackened Dalmatian, startling all of them. The jet black Belgian Shepherd rammed his shoulder into Cinder's chest, his forepaws coiling around Cinder's neck like anacondas. "I was so scared you had been killed" Augie whimpered.
"I'm fine" Cinder softly replied, dropping her helmet and wrapping a paw around Augie to return his hug, holding them up with her other paw. "It takes more than a little fire to kill me."
Augie immediately released Cinder and looked at her in surprised shock. Cinder smirked at him as she keyed her radio, "all engines except 26, commence overhaul. Engine 26, setup both of your teams for FAST." Cinder listened to the chorus of acknowledgements before continuing, "Ladder 2 and Quints, standby on reflash watch until they finish." Three more acknowledgements came before Cinder shifted radio channels.
"Dispatch, Task Force 2, fire appears to be out, commencing overhaul, we still require Mass Cas and rescue squad support; cancel air and industrial engines. Request HELITAC 3 still check in for top cover but HELITAC 1 does not have to return. Also, we need technical forensic support."
"Dispatch copies all, do you require Arson as well?"
"Already on scene" Cinder softly replied, looking at Augie.
A different shadow threw down his remote in a rage, causing it to shatter. Despite everything working exactly as designed, nothing about this fire had gone the way it had wanted. The fire had started too soon, the attack led by that impossibly proficient Dalmatian, and the blast he had triggered to eliminate her had done nothing but slightly singe her fur. "This has gone on long enough, time to eliminate her; if it is the last thing I do" the shadow vowed as he disappeared.
"You better call Claire and Darrell" Cinder softly said to Augie, who still had not picked his jaw up off the floor.
"I think you broke him" Skipper softly laughed as he picked up Cinder's helmet. As he placed it back on her head, he was carefully, if surreptitiously, examining the damage. The helment would need to be replaced, the blast had not just blackened it but almost fully burned the helmet away. He also noted the Cinder's gear was in similar shape, badly burned and unsuitable for further use. But it had done it's job and kept her safe, for which he was eternally grateful.
"Right, Claire and Darrell" Augie said as he snapped out of it and called them on his tag.
Cinder smirked as she watched him. As she turned to watch, a shimmer caught her eyes. Padding towards a shrubbery on the sidewalk opposite the burned hotel, she pushed aside the branches. She let out a gasp in shock.
"What's wrong?" Augie yelped as he bounded over to stand next to her.
Cinder responded by pointing down with her paw.
Augie's eyes followed until he too let out a gasp in surprise. There, barely five feet from where they had been standing, lay the remains of a shattered electronic device.
"Is that what I think it is?" Augie softly asked.
"Maybe" Cinder softly replied, "but let's see what Ted says."
"I'm going to go get a camera" Augie said.
Cinder nodded as Augie turned and walked away. Her blue eyes were hard as she scanned everything around her, looking for some sign of the arsonist. "We will find you" Cinder softly promised, "and bring you to justice."
"You know, you are supposed to delegate the dangerous tasks" Skipper said as he came over and stood next to Cinder, placing a hand in her shoulder.
"What dangerous task?" Cinder ask, lookup at him in confusion.
"The running practically into the front door of the fire to turn off the gas right before a flashover" Skipper reminded her. "And don't try and tell me that you didn't know it was about to flashover. I've known you too long, you went in there because you couldn't order someone else to take that risk."
"Oh, that" Cinder softly replied, letting a smile briefly flash across her face. The smile then turned serious as she softly continued, "but you know I can't order someone else to take a risk that I'm not willing to take. And I happened to be the best pup for the job."
"Maybe" Skipper replied with an amused snort, "but your talents are not only in doing things. You are a leader now, you have to keep the big picture in mind."
The fire is out, isn't it?" Cinder softly countered, "isn't that why we are here?"
"True" Skipper acquiesced, "but it isn't hard to imagine this same scenario playing out differently; with you getting hurt or killed and the fire still raging. What would the Task Force have done after it's leader was killed in front of them?"
Cinder opened her mouth the reply but Skipper held up a hand to forestall her rebuttal. "I'm not saying you made the wrong choice; I'm just saying be careful. We almost lost you once, now twice, and that is more than enough for the rest of your career."
"You've gone soft on me, haven't you?" Cinder softly and teasingly accused.
"I won't dignify that with a response" Skipper replied self-righteously.
Cinder smiled at him, his words said one thing but his eyes betrayed his true feelings and thoughts on that matter.
At that moment, Augie returned with Claire and Darrell. "You look a little worse for wear Cinder" Darrell noted.
"The fire and I had a brief but intense disagreement Cinder softly replied with a shrug, "the fire lost."
Claire looked at Skipper, her eyes full of questions. Skipper just shrugged at her. Claire decided to drop that line on inquiry for the moment and instead focus on the investigation at hand. "So, what did you two find already?"
"This" Cinder softly replied, pulling the branches of the bush back again to reveal the shattered electronic components.
"Pure gold" Darrell said as he started snapping pictures. "Ted is going to lose his mind."
"I hope not" Ted said as he joined them, "I won't be much use to you otherwise."
"What do you make of this?" Claire asked.
"Well" Ted began, "it looks like a remote of some kind. No idea if it is tied to this but we'll find out. Hopefully you dig up other treasures for me to investigate."
"We'll do our best, thanks Ted" Cinder softly promised.
With that, the team got to work. Darrell and Augie took statements from everyone while Claire and Cinder made the rounds of the nearby businesses looking at security tapes, taking notes on which ones were worth collecting. It didn't take long for the gals to finish outside but the overhaul of the hotel was nowhere near complete. Being a big building, it was going to take a while.
Claire and Cinder decided to walk the inside of the building just to see what there was to be seen. As they entered, they saw several members of Ted's team working to extract the electronic records from all of the hotel's systems.
Walking from the lobby towards the basement, their boots squished as they walked. The sprinkler system was off now, but everything had been thoroughly soaked. Looking up at the ceiling, the worst fire damage was around the ventilation ducts. It almost looked as if a jet of fire had been coming out of each of the vents.
As they made their way into the basement, where the laundry room was, there was a similar pattern of damage around the ventilation ducts. Entering the laundry room, they were surprised to find almost no damage. "That's odd" Claire said as they started poking around.
"I wonder if there is only exhaust ventilation in here" Cinder softly supposed.
"I suppose that is possible, but why?" Claire asked.
"Having only negative ventilation would help prevent the introduction of fresh air in case of a fire" Cinder softly said. "But that doesn't explain the lack of damage. The fire started here so there should be heavy damage. Let's go check out the dryers."
As they poked around, Cinder started smelling fire damage. "This way" she softly called to Claire. Pawing at some of the ducting on the back of one of the dryers, it felt slightly warm.
With a whoosh, the ducting broke and a tongue of fire shot out.
"Hot Spot!" Cinder barked, jumping backwards. "Get the extinguisher!" Cinder barked at Claire. "Hot spot in the basement, back of the dryers, closest team provide support" Cinder ordered into her radio.
Ignoring the chorus of replies, Cinder looked around. "Over there!" she yipped to Claire, pointed to a fire extinguisher by the entrance. Claire ran over and grabbed it while Cinder carefully watched the fire.
Claire pulled the pin, squeezed the trigger, and nothing happened. "Agent test unsat!" Claire yelled, looking around for another extinguisher.
At that moment, two teams of firefighters burst in through the door. Cinder and Claire got out of the way as they attacked the hot spot with practiced precision. Using their fire extinguishers to beat back the flames and rakes to pull apart the ventilation, they quickly snuffed out the fire.
"Are you ok?" one of the firefighters asked.
"We're good" Cinder softly replied as she walked back in to start poking around.
"Captain, you should wait for us to clear this area" one of the team leaders said.
"I'm disinclined to acquiesce your request" Cinder softly replied as she continued to look through the exhaust system for the dryers.
"It means no" Claire laughed as the team lead cocked his head in confusion. Claire shook her head and followed the inquisitive Dalmatian.
One of the fire teams headed back to the rest of the hotel to continue checking for hidden fires while the other team stayed with Cinder and Claire. Cinder was getting more and more aggressive in tearing open ventilation panels as she traced a certain smell.
"Ah ha! Here it is!" Cinder softly barked triumphantly as she pulled her head out of an out of a section of ducting.
Claire shined her flashlight inside, revealing an apparatus that was definitely not a part of the ventilation system.
"I'll get Ted down here" Claire said but Cinder was already on the move again. The determined Dalmatian headed directly to the fire suppression system for the laundry room.
The design of the suppression system was straightforward in that it shut all the ventilation connections to the laundry room and then flooded the isolated ventilation ducts with nitrogen to reduce the oxygen percentage below what would be needed for a fire. Then, the system sprayed the interior ventilation ducts with Novec 1230, a clean chemical agent that would reduce the temperature inside the ventilation ducts to prevent further fire. Using two different fire suppression methods made the system more complicated but significantly improved effectiveness and safety. Or it was supposed to anyway.
Cinder traced out each pipe with her eyes until she found an anomaly; an unlabeled pipe coming out of the wall and into the nitrogen flooding side of the system. "Well, well, what have we here?" She softly breathed to herself. Cinder tapped the light on her helmet to activate it and opened the access panel in the wall next to the pipe. "Oh Claire?" Cinder softly called.
"Ted is on his way down, what else did you find?" Claire asked as she walked up.
"Take a look" Cinder softly said, moving back from the access panel.
Claire looked inside and saw a clearly labeled natural gas pipe, with a hot-tapped branch line leading to a remotely controlled valve before heading to the fire suppression system. "You don't think…" Claire softly started.
"...that the arsonist fed natural gas into the fire suppression system to cause it to blowout into the ventilation system of the building and spread fire to every single room in this hotel? Yes, yes I do. And, I bet when we tear this building apart, we will find more places where natural gas was being fed into the ventilation system to ensure that the fire spread" Cinder softly finished.
"That is quite a theory" Claire replied tentatively.
"And I hope it isn't true" Ted said from behind them, causing both of them to jump slightly. "But I'll find out the technical truth, no matter what it is."
"Thanks Ted" Cinder said softly.
"Don't thank me yet," Ted replied with a smile, "save it for when I'm done tearing this building apart. Also, I think you are needed outside Cinder."
Cinder nodded and heading back up the stairs and out.
"Time to find the truth" Claire softly said as she watched the Dalmatian disappear, "and hope she is wrong…"
As she walked through the hotel, Cinder received reports from all of her fire engine L-Ts and Captains on their progress. They were slowly working their way up the hotel but still had a ways to go. Several people had also been found and transported out of the hotel.
Stepping outside, Cinder noted that some of the fire engines had been moved to make space for the Mass Casualty truck which now took up most of the roadway, along with it's attached triage and recovey tents. Behind the Mass Casualty truck was a row of ambulances. As she walked, she watched several paramedics move a patient from the triage tent to one of the ambulances and immediately depart.
"Captain!"
Cinder turned towards the voice and saw the Operations Doctor from the Mass Casualty team waving her over.
"How are we doing doc?" Cinder softly asked as she joined him.
"Not bad overall" he replied. "Lots of smoke inhalation and a smattering of severe burns" he continued as he led her through the triage tent. Cinder saw the shock in most of the patients' eyes. Off to the side, one of the teams worked to treat a patient who had been severely burned.
"Any casualties?" Cinder softly asked as they exited the triage tent.
Silence answered her.
Cinder paused and closed her eyes. Fatalities were very rare in Heartland, at least from incidents that emergency services responded to. But this made it hurt even worse when it did happen.
"The Casualty Assistance Team is on the way" the Operations Doctor finally said.
"Good" was a Cinder managed to softly croak before her voice failed her.
"Captain!"
Cinder snapped out of her quiet contemplation as one of the L-Ts called her. She still had a job to do so Cinder flowed right back into attacking the next problem.
The cleanup proceeded. It was well after sunset by the time Cinder declared the fire fully out and the building safe, ish. Almost the entire arson investigation unit was summoned to help process the massive scene. Cinder's prediction proved true as the team found remote control devices on almost every floor that had fed natural gas into the ventilation system. Some floors even had multiple devices.
The incident had left nine people dead, including three children; almost miraculous considering how many people had been inside the hotel when the inferno started. The deaths of the children were especially hard for Cinder to bear. Mercifully, the department had send a public affairs chief to handle the press, saving Cinder from that unwanted interaction.
As Cinder checked the various units off of the incident, the Casualty Assistance Teams were making rounds, checking to be sure all the firefighters and paramedics were ok. It was the first time some of the firefighters had been involved in a fatal incident and a few were not handling it well. Cinder was greatful for the help from the teams, even if she herself was doing her best to avoid having those conversations with them.
All the while, Augie's attention was split between his various tasks and keeping an eye on Cinder. So much so that Darrell finally said something.
"You know she is going to see you" Darrell said, giving Augie a nudge.
"Someone has to watch out for her" Augie replied back. "You didn't see it, but she almost died putting this fire out "
"Skipper told me" Darrell replied, "and it is unfortunate that there are fatalities involved. From what I hear, she did better than some of the seasoned Fire Chiefs."
"And she won't believe it" Augie said sadly, "she won't accept this as anything other than a failure. You can see it in her eyes that she is going to carry those deaths with her for a long time."
"Been looking at her eyes alot?" Darrell baited his partner.
"I've been watching her back" Augie deftly sidestepped the bait, "like a good partner should."
"I thought I was your partner?" Darrell said with mock surprise and hurt.
"You are" Augie replied, "and so are Claire and Cinder. We are a team, we all have to watch out for each other."
"Very true" Darrell replied, letting his partner win this round.
"Claire" Cinder softly called as she saw Claire walk out of the building. "I'm going to head back to the station, the scene is fully secure."
"Ok, I'll grab the guys and meet you there" Claire replied, "we have much to discuss."
Cinder nodded before walking back over to where the L-Ts and Captains from the remaining units were clustered.
"Great job everyone " Cinder softly told them. "Engine 202, you will remain on scene in case the teams discover anything. Everyone else, you are clear to return to your stations. Get some rest while you can."
A chorus of acknowledgements came back at her as they departed to pack up their crews.
"Let's go home" Cinder softly said as she jumped up into the cab of Engine 25.
The ride home was quiet, partly due to everyone's physical exhaustion but also do to being emotionally drained. Arriving at the station, the team got the gear ready to respond to the next emergency while Cinder practically dragged Skipper into her office.
"How do you handle it?" Cinder whined softly and without preamble as she closed the door behind them.
"Everyone has their own way" Skipper gently replied, sitting down on the floor next to Cinder's bed and letting her lay down with her head in his lap. His hand naturally started running down her back. "Grieving is a personal process. For me, it usually takes a few days for it to fully sink in and it keeps me up at night until I finally processes it and I come to terms with it."
"But how do you keep going, knowing that you could have saved them?" Cinder softly whined, on the verge of tears.
"Now you are talking crazy again" Skipper said gently as he continued to stroke Cinder's spine. "Chief Henry and I both agree that you did a superb job. So what do you think you could have done better missy?" There was a note of exasperation in the question.
"I should have activated the tertiary gas shut-off sooner" Cinder softly sobbed, "if I had, maybe those nine would have survived."
Skipper let her cry, continuing to stroke her. He finally spoke when the tears started to dry up. "What makes you think that you could have shut that valve any faster?" Skipper softly asked.
"Huh?" Cinder softly replied, not quite sure what Skipper meant.
"I mean, I don't think it was physically possible for you to shut that valve any faster" Skipper explained. "You figured out what was going on faster than anyone else. By the time Chief Henry and I were just starting to understand, you were already half way across the street. Even a massive flashover, which could have killed you, barely slowed you down."
"But I should have shut it sooner" Cinder softly countered.
"What do our standard operating procedures say?" Skipper asked gently.
"To only shut the tertiary shut off valve when you have confirmed that the primary or secondary valves have failed" Cinder softly quoted.
"Exactly" Skipper drove his point home, "you had no reason to think that they had failed until Rain and Splash reported smelling gas inside. The moment you did, you acted swiftly and decisively, which is exactly what you should have done. You will drive yourself insane if you beat yourself up over failing to be omnipotent."
"Maybe we should change the procedure" Cinder softly postulated.
"Permanently or temporarily?" Skipper challenged. "The valve is meant to be a fail safe, only used when the other valves have failed. It would put tremendous burden on technical to reset the valves after every single fire. But, that might be a wise temporary mitigation while we have a serial arsonist who is able to bypass primary and secondary valves with ease. Conversely, if we start closing the tertiary valve every time, he might spend more effort trying to figure out how to bypass the tertiary valves. That could be an even worse situation."
"That isn't possible" Cinder softly replied.
"Yet" Skipper said grimly, "with enough time and resources, anything is technically possible. I think the best way forward is to warn the department and tell our crews to be ready to shut the tertiary valve on any fire involving natural gas."
Cinder nodded as Skipper continued, "I know you want to save them all Cinder, but sometimes you just can't."
"Any fatality is too many" Cinder softly decreed.
"Agreed" Skipper conceded, "but it isn't your actions that cause fatalities. You do your best to save them, and have to forget the rest."
Cinder smiled at Skipper appropriating one of Marshall's lines. Then she felt a sharp pain in her chest and remembered what had transpired earlier. But before she could move, Augie, Darrell and Claire walked into her office.
"Oh, sorry, are we interrupting?" Claire asked.
"No" Cinder softly replied as she got up, shaking any remnants of their emotional talk from her body, "but we should probably keep this short as I'm sure that we all could use some rest."
"I couldn't agree more" Claire replied, "the only thing I think we need to think about tonight is how we get ahead of this arsonist."
"What do you mean?" Cinder softly asked.
"We know how he operates very well" Augie began.
"But not how he picks his targets" Darrell finished, "if we want to stop this arsonist, we need to figure that out."
Cinder partially tuned out the discussion as she contemplated that question. She heard various theories about target selection, metrics and other police talk that she didn't fully understand, when suddenly a thought struck her.
"Opportunity" Cinder softly said.
Everyone else dropped talking. "What do you mean?" Augie asked.
"Basically, there are three things the arsonist needs" Cinder softly explained, "technical capability, which he or she has demonstrated clearly to us; intent to do harm; and the opportunity to use that technical capability to achieve his or her intent."
"But some of these had to have been planned and setup well in advance" Claire said, "that doesn't sound like waiting for opportunity."
"Maybe" Cinder softly replied, "but what if the key opportunity is all about planting the capability. Once the capability is planted, waiting for the perfect moment to activate that capability is much easier. What if the targets are legitimately random, to a degree, based on opportunities to plant the capability, and the end state is general mayhem caused?"
The team pondered that for several moments.
"It doesn't really fit the normal patterns" Darrell said slowly, "but none of this really fits."
"But in it's own way" Claire continued, "all the pieces we have fit that idea."
"Which means if we can figure out what his opportunities look like, we can narrow down possible future fires" Augie finished.
Unbeknownst to them, a shadow frothed in fury. How the **** did that ******* Dalmatian figure me out? he thought to himself, the whole point of this was that the randomness would lead them on wild goose chases, not directly to me. Even more reason to get rid of her, but how? The shadow started to leave but a change in the conversation made him pause.
"Now that we have taken care of that" Cinder softly said, "I have to figure out what that clutzy brother of mine has done to himself."
"When you finish that call, you are going to take few days off and go visit him" Skipper said nonchalantly.
"What?" Cinder softly balked. "I couldn't do that" she started to explain.
"Yes you can and you will" Skipper replied firmly, "these were your first fatalities as a Captain, so take a few days off to process them. I'll take care of things here."
"Is that an order?" Cinder softly whined.
"Yes" Skipper said, "I need you at 110% to catch this arsonist. So go spend some time with Marshall and Everest and recharge."
"Fine" Cinder softly grumped, "but this is under protest and I'm not leaving until they are done with whatever rescue mission they are on."
"Shouldn't they be done by now?" Augie gently interjected.
"I have a feeling they are not" Cinder softly replied as she dialed Marshall on her phone.
"The rescue pup you have dialed is on a mission right now. If this is an emergency, please dial, say or bark 911 to be connected to the nearest emergency response dispatch center" an automated voice answered once again.
Cinder smacked her paw down in irritation on her phone. "Everest had better answer" Cinder softly muttered as she dialed the husky.
The phone rang once, then twice, then thrice.
"Hello?" Everest finally answered.
"What happened to Marshall?!" Cinder softly cried into the phone.
A light bulb when off in the shadow's head and a cruel smile spread across his face.