Chapter 12
The following shifts with Captain Williams did not improve the morale of the firehouse. A full morning of day drinking had not improved Luna’s mood either. She was a pile of seething resentment. Aiden was no longer acting like an officer; he deferred everything to the Captain. Vanessa, desperate for approval, was tripping over herself to jump at any suggestion Williams made.
The morning lineup on Thursday was less than promising. Two vaguely familiar firefighters were lined up with them at 0900 sharp.
“Welcome,” Williams said. “You may know Solari and Timmons from D-shift. They’ll be covering Medic today. With a full complement of engine and ladder, four and four, we’ll be doing drills unless there’s an incident. Here are your new turnouts, freshly supplied by CCFD to use during the drills.”
Goody. More drills.
Erin was glad everyone made a mutual decision to start eating pre-shift at 0830 for breakfast. In the past, they’d spend fifteen to twenty minutes after lineup to eat breakfast, but Williams didn’t have a use for such things. He never ate meals with them, though he constantly came upstairs to drink coffee. His stealthy intrusions into the Cafe kept complaining at a minimum. For someone six-four, he had tiny, silent, cat footsteps.
Everyone gamely opened their new turnouts, and, as promised, they were re-branded with ‘CCFD’ insignia and had a different manufacturer than their previous ones. The new turnouts were stiffer than the old ones and could have used a wash to break them in. Usually, the team would have happily pretended to catwalk in their new gear like the red carpet, but their captain seemed to discourage any type of emotion.
Or fun. Or joy.
Luna failed to hide her disappointment because these were still too large for her five-four frame. Erin had won the genetic lottery on height, making her almost equal to Theo and Carver and a few inches shorter than Aiden and Kevin. This was good for length, but she, like Vanessa and Luna, had taken her turnouts to a seamstress to get them altered to fit the chest, slim waist, and hips. It wasn’t the best solution, but it was better than nothing.
Stiff new turnouts on, Erin was assigned to Engine with Williams, Vanessa, and Aiden. It was unorthodox, placing three officers on one apparatus, but the reasoning was quickly evident. Erin and Aiden unrolled hose while Williams quizzed Vanessa on water utilization and physics, leaving them to their own devices. On Ladder, Luna was unenthusiastically leading forcible entry education. Their Medic team was given the job of observing and scoring their performances.
As obnoxious as it was, there was a certain amount of genius. Vanessa needed someone to actively take an interest in her training, and the D-shift members were only part-time. By allowing them to grade A-shift’s work, they got education on the standards without trying to correct their behavior.
Still, didn’t Williams notice the abnormality in Aiden’s lack of involvement? Couldn’t he tell Luna was ready to flip her lid?
The captain was completely impervious to any of the team dynamics. Erin resolved to refrain from speaking at all or offering suggestions, even if they were sorely needed. He’d have to learn that a little positive feedback for Luna would have done wonders. Vanessa needed a structured training plan with benchmarks, and then she’d let up some on her intensity. Aiden was having problems, but he wasn’t about to open up to Captain Unfriendly.
Midway through the exercise, the klaxon went off. Already in turnouts, they loaded up. No one needed to ask about assignments because it was clear. Erin signed herself on the riding list in the back cab, with Aiden downgraded from his officer position.
Williams’s voice spoke through the headset. “There is smoke reported at the Drury Plaza Hotel. We’re going to establish water. Ladder team will check out the incident. Knight will be Incident Command. Copy that Ladder 15?”
“L115 to E115. We copy. Ladder team will explore the incident,” Luna confirmed.
Erin checked on Aiden. He was still acting weird. She pulled off her headset and prodded him with her foot. “You okay?”
“Everything is perfectly fine,” he answered blankly.
That was unlikely. Unfortunately, they couldn’t talk about it though because Williams was right there. If Aiden wouldn’t talk to her, maybe he shared more with Kevin.
They pulled up to the Drury Plaza. Erin and Aiden immediately started laying hose while Williams attached the hydrant because Vanessa was doing her 360 eval.
“No obvious fire around the building,” she panted, having run around the hotel. “Some of the lower windows have a residue on them.” Ladder team bunched around her.
“Could be smoke,” Williams said. “What next?”
Luna started to speak, and Williams held up a hand, “Excuse me, Lieutenant, I’m asking Lieutenant Knight.”
“Determine if this a working fire versus someone smoking in the basement. Send Ladder team to investigate with nozzle team in backup. Call the first alarm if there is actual fire.”
“Sounds good.” The captain pointed at the two D-shifters. “You two, stay outside. Monitor all communications on TAC-1. You’re not suited up, so do not physically come in the building unless it’s been determined to be safe. We have enough staff exploring. No freelancers. Understood?” He cast a glance at Luna.
“Absolutely, sir,” Solari said, moving back to the ambulance.
“Ladder, you can lead.” He turned to Erin and Aiden. “Engine, I’ll keep you on nozzle, but keep the RIT kit in case things evolve.”
“Yes, sir.” Aiden grabbed the RIT bag, forcing Erin to carry most of the hose.
In the Lobby, the hotel manager explained he saw smoke from the lower level. He wasn’t aware of anyone down there, but he couldn’t be sure since there were multiple exits. The hotel map showed stairs leading to several different utility rooms including refrigerators, air conditioning, and heating units.
“How much storage is combustibles?” Luna asked.
