I entered the third apartment on my left. I covered my head and halted abruptly when the ceiling started falling right in front of me, and my heartbeat skyrocketed once more.
“Is anybody here?!”
I trudged through the place, trying to listen for anyone. The fire had already spread through most of the rooms, and I had to bend forward as I walked further inside.
“Is anybody here?!”
My heart hammered against my rib cage, because I was sure I’d heard screams coming from this place, but now I couldn’t find anyone at all. Had something happened to them?
Was I too late?
“Help me! Please! I’m stuck here! I can’t open the door!”
I heard someone hitting against the door next to me, and I stopped, more than relieved that they were alive.
“Please, move away from the door. I’m going to kick it in.”
I waited a few seconds until I was sure that the person on the other side of the door heard my instruction. I kicked it and stepped inside, and my eyes immediately found a teenage girl in the middle of a bathroom.
“Thank God!” She exclaimed and rushed toward me, pulling me into hug. “I thought I was going to die,” she coughed out, taking deep breaths, which just brought on more coughs. She needed oxygen, but I didn’t have the time.
I wrapped my arms around her shoulders reassuringly, leading her out the confined space. “It’s going to be alright. Just be careful where you step, okay? I’m going to get you out of here.”
Suddenly, a part of the ceiling fell down, missing us by inches. Shit. If we stayed here even a minute longer, we would be roasted.
“No!” She screamed, digging her nails into my waist, and her anxiety seeped into me. I brushed it off, refusing to succumb to it.
“Calm down. Are you hurt?” I inspected her body for any injuries, extremely tense because we couldn’t get out quickly enough and fire was everywhere around us.
“No,” she cried out, looking at me through her tears. She was so young, yet she had to experience this extreme horror.
“Good. Look. We’re going to continue and we won’t stop. Okay? Just a little bit more.”
I picked her up, knowing I wouldn’t do any damage, it would be faster this way.
I spoke calmly to her all the way down the stairs, looking all around us in extreme caution. Trent and Brian were on the floor below, having successfully extinguished the fire. I carried the girl outside and dropped her off at the EMT.
“She needs oxygen!” I yelled to them before running back inside to check for more people.
An hour later we finally managed to put the fire out, and there were no residents who remained in the building. Trent and I got outside, both breathing heavily from exhaustion, and I took off my mask, the smells of burned wood, walls, and furniture immediately hitting my nostrils. I was completely covered with sweat, and my adrenaline began dissipating slowly.
“We did it, man,” I told Trent, more than grateful that no one got injured.
I glanced at the ruined building, and an overwhelming peace and satisfaction filled my body, because despite the seriousness of this situation, everyone managed to come outside in one piece. The worst had passed.
“It feels good, bro,” he told me, slapping my shoulder lightly.
“Damn, right.” I smiled back at him. “Good job, Trent.”
“You, too. Good job.”
3
Trent
I was completely covered with sweat, still breathing unevenly after we managed to put out the fire. The adrenaline rush left me pretty exhausted, but it was worth it. It was always worth it, because we managed to save people, and there was nothing else that mattered more than helping others in need.
These people depended on us, and the satisfaction of being able to help them was the greatest reward for me, which was the reason why I became a firefighter after high school. I’d always dreamed about reaching out to the people in need, and I had no doubt this job was what I’d been made for. I was strong, I worked well under pressure, and so firefighting made sense. This was my purpose in life.