THE EMERGENCY ALARM sounds throughout the firehouse, jarring me awake from my sleep. My eyes shoot open and take in the blurry surroundings. Carter jumps out of his bunk and races to the bathroom. As the sleep daze fades, reality sets in and my body comes to life, ready for action.
Jumping off the top bunk, I pull a FDNY shirt over my head. Fire retardant coveralls slide over my body from top to bottom. I bend down to slip on a pair of thick black socks and grab my gloves off the dresser. Seconds later, Carter races out of the bathroom and quickly gets dressed. Loud voices echo throughout the firehouse, yelling at us to hurry the hell up.
As Carter finishes getting dressed, we nod at each other and rush toward the fireman’s pole. He grips the pole with his hands while crossing his legs around it, sliding down in a flash. I follow suit and let the pole carry me down the bottom level.
The captain yells out orders as we get all our gear in order. “Type 4 heavy timber! Multiple residential apartment buildings affected. 86th and Lex!”
Rushing to my locker, I haul on the firefighter suit, carefully placing my legs in first and fastening the top jacket, protecting my chest and arms. I pull the hooded black lining over my head, carefully enclosing it around my face. Slipping on the fire boots, I fasten the grips to a tight fit.
A quick glimpse at my self-contained breathing apparatus—or SCBA as we call it—ensures the proper allotted breathing time and available psi for the mission. I set the consumption for a forty-five minute availability, 4,500 psi. Twisting the knob as the apparatus hisses on and off, I let out a deep breath, calming myself down, steadying my heartbeat to a calm rhythm. As I slip the air tank around my arms and rest it on my back, my body adjusts to its weight. The connecting mask bumps against my thigh and I reach down to grab hold. The mask presses against my face as I meticulously align it, waiting for the seal to suction on. As the mask seals, I slip on my fire retardant gloves and grab the helmet off the shelf. In an instant, Carter and I race to the trucks and grab our seats. The siren goes off outside, alerting any nearby pedestrians and drivers to make way for the trucks exiting out of the garage.
Captain climbs into the driver’s seat and blasts the horn, bringing the truck to life. The truck dashes out of the garage with another truck following close behind. We weave in and out of traffic as we make our way to the scene. Racing against time, we rush past red lights as the horn is constantly honked. Honestly, I think it’s the captain’s favorite thing to do. He loves honking that thing.
Minutes later, my eyes take in the surroundings as we roll up to the scene. Two adjacent apartment buildings burn as flames eat away at them. Three fire trucks have already deployed before us, cascading water onto the buildings’ flames. The apartments are eight stories high with flames engulfing all the way to the roof. Black smoke escapes its broken windows and I see residents crying out for help. Waving arms peer out of the windows, begging for rescue. Ladders climb the sides of the buildings, allowing firefighters to make their rescue attempts. I can feel the heat of the fire even from inside the truck.
TV reporters and camera crews report live from the scene as pedestrians and residents who managed to escape watch in horror. Ambulances flood the streets, treating victims for any injuries while having them breath fresh, clean air through oxygen masks.
Captain calls out, “Channel two!” We all switch our radios to the connecting channel. We step out of the truck, waiting for our orders from Captain.
“Listen up! Carter, Alex, and Mason: hose one! Trey and Jackson: hose two! Roman and Finn: building one! Seth and Max: building two!”
We all respond, “Yes sir!”
I grab the fire axe off the inner wall of the truck as Carter pats my shoulder, wishing me good luck before I head inside the flaming building. Checking the SCBA, I twist the knob and it hisses to life. Air begins to blow out of the breathing mask as I adjust to the pressure, allowing it to fill my lungs. Finn and I glance at each other, offering up a nod as we make our way inside the building.
Captain’s voice chimes through the radio. “Be careful inside. It’s an old building. Walls aren’t strong enough to withstand the flames. If it starts to tremor, get yourselves the hell out of there.”
As we take our first steps inside, screams from above bounce off the walls. Smoke fills the hallways as Finn and I travel throughout the ground floor. I follow him as we step deeper inside the building. Busting down apartment doors, we call out for any survivors, hoping to hear that tiny ounce of hope.
Finn chimes in, “We’re going to have to check every room just to be sure.”
I give him a thumb up, signaling my agreement. We each scope out apartments on the first and second floors, rushing inside to search for any survivors.
When we reach the last apartment on the second floor, I quickly scan the area and yell out, “This is the New York City Fire department. Anyone in here?” No response. Dammit. Debris from above clutters the ground as I step around it, careful not to cause any disturbance to the structure. After scanning the apartment, I sound to Finn on the radio, “Nothing here.” He responds with nothing as well so we make our way to the third floor. I steady my breathing as we climb the stairs to the next floor, watching out for any missing steps. Making our way up, screams from down the hall put us on high alert. Finn follows close behind as I make my way to the apartment.
“This is the fire department! We are here to rescue you.”
The voice from inside cries out, “Help me please!”
I grab hold of the doorknob but the locked mechanism won’t budge. Finn and I bang our shoulders against the door but the strong wooden frame is too thick.
I grab hold of the axe and warn the resident, “Step away from the door. I have to bust it down!” Finn steps back as I lift the axe and swing it through the air. It crashes into the door, breaking its way inside. Repeating the motion several times, the force of the heavy axe causes my breathing to become erratic. Relax. Calm yourself down.
A minute later, the axe completes its wreckage and we climb inside the apartment. Flames engulf the foyer and living room. Furniture melts into ash as we walk deeper into the space. Finn calls out for the survivor as I listen attentively for the location of its source. The female voice calls out from the back of the apartment, “Help, I’m in the bedroom.”
Finn rushes toward the rear of the apartment as I double-check to make sure no one else is present. Once all clear, I step toward the bedroom and find Finn removing debris off the woman. Her right leg is bleeding badly so I tear up her bed sheet and wrap it around her wound, making a tight tourniquet. Finn clears the debris and bends down to grab hold of the injured woman. Her glossy eyes reflect the flames around us and she offers us a smile just before she passes out in his arms. I pull a fire blanket out of my suit pocket and wrap it around the woman, preventing her from getting burned as we travel throughout the building. Finn sounds the captain over the radio, “Captain, we have a survivor. Requesting extraction immediately.”
Captain relays that the trampoline is all set and ready to go. We just have to rush down to the end of the hall and jump out of the window.
As Finn starts to head to the stairs with the female in hand, I stop him. “I’m going to head upstairs and check for more survivors.”
He shakes his head. “No, we stick together. That’s the plan.”
“We can’t cover enough ground in time. Get her to safety and come back.”
“But Roman—”
“Just go. Get her out of here!”