“Yes, sir,” I said, stepping around him to get to the firetruck. “I hear you loud and clear.”
Matt, Nick, and some of our other crew already had the trucks fired up and ready to go. We dressed in our gear and hopped into the trucks, flashing the lights and sirens on as we pulled after one another out of the bay and down the road. It was cold today, colder than usual, but still dry. It looked like snow was threatening to spill from over the mountain.
A few minutes is all it took for us to arrive at the scene, and I jumped out of the truck and at once went to work unloading supplies. The police were there, holding back the crowds of terrified people, and the wood-built office building in front of us burned, flames licking up each wall of the building, successfully trapping any victims left in there to their untimely deaths. The first floor was already burned, indicating that the fire probably started on the ground level. The flames would burn through the second floor in minutes and take the building down.
“Should we go in?” Hansen asked Chief Davis. He was already gearing up, double-checking his oxygen mask and the rest of the PPE. He pointed at the truck ladder where Nick and Matt were scouting the scene, the ladder rising to the second floor to check it out from afar. “That window looks clear, chief. If anyone is upstairs, we might be able to get to them before the floor goes.”
Chief Davis hesitated, but just for a moment. A moment was all we had to spare. He nodded. “Go,” he said. “Take Paisley and Matt in with you. Scout the second floor but hurry up. If anything seems off to you, leave. Evacuate. I’ll call you back after four minutes.”
Hansen nodded, securing his tank, and looked briefly at me. I nodded at him just once, and he jogged away to recruit Paisley and Matt, who both immediately dressed in their PPE without a single moment’s hesitation.
“Is this a good idea, Chief?” I asked, watching my best friend and his new wife climb the ladder as it was sent to the second-floor window once more. Chief Davis didn’t look at me when he spoke, but I could hear the apprehension in his voice.
“I don’t know, Korbin,” he said softly. “I just don’t know anymore.”
It wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but I knew it was a better answer than anyone else had to give. If I knew Hansen, he probably would have refusednotgoing in. He was a good man and a good captain. He would do what it took. We both would.
“This is how many commercial fires in the last few months?” I asked softly. “It’s becoming repetitive.”
I wasn’t sure he was going to answer for a moment, but then he shook his head. Our eyes were still pinned on the second-story window as Hansen stopped at the top of the ladder. He peered into the window and, a moment later, shattered the glass. We cowered a bit, always expecting a blast, but none came.
“Heading in,” said Hansen’s voice over the radio. “Stand by.”
“No,” Chief Davis said, and briefly, I had no idea who he was talking to. But then he looked at me, and I could see the hesitation behind his eyes. “It’s never happened before,” he continued. “And this is number five.”
The words hit me like a ton of bricks, right in the chest, and an involuntary shudder coursed through my body. “This happened twice more, and no one told me?” I struggled to keep my anger down, but it was difficult. That seemed like something I should have been made aware of.
“We should have told you,” Chief Davis said. “I know that.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“Because you were out. You were hurt. And no one wanted to add any more pain.”
“I could have handled it.”
“I know.”
On the radio, Hansen’s voice crackled through again. “It looks clear up here, Chief,” he said. “I don’t see any survivors or any bodies.”
“Good,” Davis said into the radio. “Then pull back before the thing comes down.”
“Copy that.”
Fear coursed through my body as Chief Davis and I watched the window for any sign of Hansen, Paisley, or Matt. A few of my other men were shooting a stream of water from the hose, making a valiant attempt to keep the flames from completely consuming the building. But I knew we were too late. The building would fall, water or not.
“What’s taking them so long?” I muttered, reaching for my own radio. “Hansen? It’s Butler. Are you there?”
Silence. Mere silence through the line of the radio; dead air. Chief Davis looked at me, and the emotion in his eyes was evident. Something was wrong.
“Hill,” he said into his own radio. “Nelson? Give us an update.”
Nothing.
“Jesus Christ.” I dropped my grip on the radio and spun around, spotting my PPE where I’d left it near the truck. Chief Davis turned as I rushed in that direction, but he shook his head.
“You don’t have my permission to go there, Butler.”
“Chief—”
