Kwon had been a lieutenant for a couple of years and was an interesting combination of abrasive and ambitious. She and Vanessa got along quite well, cut from the same cloth. As a matter of fact, the way they were eyeing each other, she’d probably be invited into Vanessa’s bed once Kwon returned to her regular duties next week. Erin wondered if Vanessa would let her stay for breakfast.
The team spent Thanksgiving morning spraying down a lot of overzealous oven versus turkey fires because all Thanksgivings need a CCFD visit. The fires were small enough that they used their fire extinguishers instead of the ‘red-line,’ the stored water in the engine’s backup tank.
They got called to help the police with a missing children’s search right after destroying another doomed turkey. Vanessa and Carver were on the Medic, and the remaining four were on Engine.
Kevin parked in a residential neighborhood in Newburg Heights that backed up to a wooded area and railroad yard. The railroad yard was hidden behind the trees and separated from the neighborhood by a fence. The cul-de-sac led into a larger neighborhood with a gas station, UPS store, and a mini mart.
PD was going door to door looking for two missing ten-year-olds, Jerrell and Ray. The two boy cousins had run off hours ago and hadn’t been seen since. The members of 15was supposed to stay at the rigs by the parents’ house in case they were needed. As a precaution, Kwon instructed them to unload the ladders, jump bags, and rappelling gear.
“Good chance somebody climbed a tree again. Probably got bored.”
“Why can’t we do a short survey? I remember going on adventures like that,” Carver said.
Erin didn’t trust him. He sounded too eager and oddly driven somehow. Maybe he had a soft spot for kids making bad choices.
Kwon nodded. “You have five minutes. You’ve got your radio. Hudgens, go with him.” Kwon was a brusque woman of few words when it came to talking to people who were not Vanessa, but her plan wasn’t wrong. The officers needed to stay in a centralized location.
Erin followed Carver on his walk. He was wearing the CCFD uniform with a waterproof jacket and carried the RIT bag. Erin was in her full standard-issue turnouts and boots, making her move more slowly.
“See the fence?” Carver pointed about a hundred feet into the woods. “I’d have explored over there.”
They approached the fence and saw a gap partially obscured by the trees. A set of child-sized footprints went into the gap and past a sign reading ‘Marcelline Yard.’ Erin and Carver crawled through the hole and into the silent snowy railroad yard. Two trains with several cars, including tankers, open wagons, and hoppers, were parked alone.
“We have possible footprints into the rail yard. Multiple train cars. Requesting additional search parties. Carver, what are you doing?” Erin yelled the last part away from her radio because Carver was climbing a ladder to an open wagon car.
“Just checking!” Finding nothing, he hopped off the ladder and went to a nearby tanker car.
“Carver, stop! No freelancing!” Erin tried to follow but it was more difficult to walk through the foot-high snow in her protective boots. “We need more people! Two in, two out! You know the protocol!”
“I think I see someone!” Carver shined a light into the tanker car. It was labeled ‘gasoline’ with a vapor and liquid warning label. “Jerrell? Ray!”
“Get down from there!” Erin shouted and went for her radio again. “I need the rappelling gear. SCBA and the gas meter! Call Haz-Mat!”
“I see them. They aren’t moving. There’s fluid in the bottom of the tank!” Carver yelled, his voice higher pitched than usual.
Erin spun back in horror. This reminded her of how her team had sounded during the Freon leak. The gasoline vapor would be displacing the air above the tank, and Carver was breathing it in without any equipment! “Carver, get down!”
It was too late. Overcome by the fumes, he toppled forward into the tanker. He caught the edge of the lip, trying to right himself. It wasn’t enough because he dropped below her line of sight.
“Damn it!” She called back to her radio, running toward the car, “Mayday. Firefighter down. M215 has fallen into a railroad gasoline tanker. Suspected presence of missing children at the same location!”
She hooked her safety line to the car’s ladder and climbed. Making sure she stopped before the top, she checked to see who was coming. Theo was out of the way, flagging down the police. Kevin knocked down the section of fence by barreling through it and had his SCBA tank on with a second in his arms. Vanessa was right behind him with the rappelling gear, unencumbered by heavy turnouts. Kwon was furiously radioing for more help, hampered in speed by her turnouts and SCBA.
Kevin climbed halfway up the ladder and handed Erin the extra SCBA. Erin tossed off her helmet and shoved on the SCBA faster than she ever had in the past. All those drills with Captain Williams were paying off.
Vanessa traded spots with Kevin and, dropping her gloves, threaded the harness up Erin’s legs and shoulders. It was a difficult process because of the gear and the SCBA. Vanessa gave Erin an empty harness and said, “Conserve your air. If they are DOA, rescue Carver!”
They rotated again; Kwon had helped Kevin get his harness on and secured the lines to the heavy train car. He came up the ladder, his helmet off, too.
Kwon called up from the base, “I’ll be up to catch whoever comes out. Click the radio or pull the rope twice for ‘Rope Up’ and three times for ‘Rope Down.’ I’ll be keeping an eye with the light.”
Usually, those signals would be given by whistle, but they were preparing for the worst. It would take at least another ten minutes for another team to arrive, and that might be too long.
Erin took a long, slow breath and turned on her light next to her radio. She and Kevin were about to deliberately climb into an open gasoline tank. They had no idea what condition the children or Carver would be in inside. She clicked her radio three times and lowered herself down.
She landed with a small splash in a foot of liquid. Fortunately, it wasn’t taller than her boots. Carver was slumped on the bottom, pulling at two children. His face was an eerie red in her light, and his eyes were half shut, likely from the strong fumes. She opened the harness as best she could and checked a child. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing, but she wasn’t going to remove any gear to check. Every second he spent down here would drain his life.
“Take the twins,” Carver said, his speech slurred. “Can’t fail. Don’t let them die.”
