“Everyone is on TAC-1. Command by the engines is using TAC-1,” Kevin kept his voice low. The captain of 19 must not have bothered to switch to Command Channel or set Maydays on TAC-2.
“Fine, Carver, listen for us on TAC-2.” Vanessa decided to claim the unused channel for herself.
Theo handed Vanessa an extra light, and she sealed on her air. The fire might have been out, but smoke and other chemicals were still present. The air gauge on her borrowed SCBA was full, indicating Carver had never engaged his air.
“We still have about twenty minutes on our bottles,” Kevin assured her. Another discouraging sign. An engine team was used as ladder. Then again, the captain of 19 might have done them a favor by not recklessly spending their lives.
“Move out, 15.” Aiden finally contributed something, and they started off.
Vanessa was glad for the helmet lights and her flashlight. The building had severe smoke damage, and the lack of power turned the windowless internal hallways pitch black. There had been high heat too, because as they got closer to the cafeteria, the flowered wallpaper near the ceiling was bubbled and buckled.
They dodged another team rolling two gurneys down the hallway, warned by the bobbing lights of the helmets. A sharper left turn moved them away from the dripping remains of the cafeteria and into a new corridor. They came to a wide-open room and found five patients in beds lined up against the wall. They were covered in a sheen of ash and didn’t appear to be breathing.
Aiden walked unsteadily toward them, abandoning their formation, and started mumbling, “No, no, no!”
Her first impression hadn’t been wrong. They weren’t breathing and they had oxygen resting on their chests, not their faces.
It took her about ten seconds to understand what had happened. She took in the large card reading DNR next to each bed. The room wasn’t burned, and the wallpaper wasn’t distorted. It wouldn’t have been too hot in here, only very smoky.
Aiden exploded into action. He ripped the jump bag away from Kevin and ran toward the closest bed an unmoving elderly man with his nasal cannula in his hands. “I’ll bag. Jones compressions.”
“They’re dead,” Vanessa said. “They… they took off their oxygen on purpose.”
“No. No! NO!” In an impressive show of dexterity considering his SCBA mask and turnouts, Aiden began compressions on the man, dropping the jump bag.
Theo quietly started on the opposite end of the line, checking for pulses. Kevin tried to get closer to his roommate.
“Aiden. He’s dead. They are DNR. Stop.” His attempt to show logic to his lieutenant had no effect.
“NO! They aren’t! A little epi and some good compression will bring them back!”
By the fourth body, Theo shook his head. Vanessa keyed her radio. “This is E415.” Vanessa gave the designation that would have been Carver’s. “I have five DOAs in the first hospice pod. Requesting permission to check out the second. We can send for mortuary after evac for recovery.”
Most firefighters were willing to carry the recoveries to the front, but they were needed elsewhere right now. Carver answered. “Copy that. There should be a census on the back of the door. Bring it back to account for them.”
Vanessa took the census clipboard from the door. “Stop compressions,” she ordered. Aiden showed no signs of stopping.
“Lieutenant Clarke, cease compressions!” Kevin called, trying to pull Aiden away.
“Not yet,” Aiden whipped off his mask seal and kept going. “We can get him back. They can’t have been down that long. We can get them all back. Find the AED.”
“Stop,” Vanessa said. Theo crept closer.
“I said get the AED! We passed one in the hallway!” Aiden pushed Kevin away.
“Stop, man!” Kevin grabbed Aiden by the back of his turnouts.
Aiden lost it and punched Kevin in the chin. “I’m the commanding officer, not her! I gave you an order, JONES!”
Theo tackled Aiden from behind, and he and Kevin pinned Aiden down. Their senior lieutenant flailed, kicking and cursing them.
Her heart was breaking for him, but he was going to hurt someone. “Lieutenant, I order you to discontinue any heroic action. The patients were DNR.”
“Go to hell!” He tried to get up.
Breaking protocol, Vanessa removed her helmet and SCBA. She got face-to-face with Aiden. “The patients are dead. You are relieved of command.”
The fight went out of Aiden, and he went limp.
