The Burning Desire to Save

Chapter 9

Upstairs in the brigade's meeting room, Principal Keiichi Furutani and Assistant Principal Noriko Matsumoto, the former in his late forties and the latter a year older than Masako and Kana, sat across from the Harukawa Girls' Academy Student Council, Chiefs Taichi Mikazuki and Fumio Ueda, and several firefighters who had come to support the student firefighter program and oppose the efforts to shut it down, among them Masako and Kana in fact, both of whom seemed to eye out Noriko in particular. Both were dressed in formal business attire, and were confident in what they were about to do and say. The tension in the air was palpable as both sides conversed with each other briefly before the meeting began. Tomoko told Naoko and Yui, "This is the big one, guys. It's now or never."

Then, two more people walked up the stairs, and as everyone turned around to see who it was, several of those who knew who they were gasped. "We're here," said Tenko's father as he and her mother looked around. "Did the meeting already begin?"

"No," Daisuke told them. "You're right on time, Inami-san."

Yui whispered to Naoko, "There's our secret weapon."

As the two older adults sat down, Keiichi turned to them and asked them, "And who might you two be?"

"We're the parents of Inami Tenko," Tenko's mother explained. "We're here to give our opinion on the proposal to abolish the Student Firefighter Program of Harukawa Girls' Academy. We heard you mentioned our daughter as a reason why. Is that correct?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I remember reading what happened to her and being appalled that she was placed in such a situation to begin with."

Noriko then told the group, "We can begin now if you want, Chief Miyagi."

"Go ahead," Taichi said to start the meeting. "Assistant Chief Ueda is recording the proceedings now." Fumio then turned on a digital voice recorder next to him and pulled out a notebook and a pen to start taking notes.

"Very well," Keiichi said before bowing. "For those who may not know, my name is Furutani Keiichi. I became principal of Harukawa Girls' Academy in March of 2022 after our previous principal retired following thirty-two dedicated years of service to our school. When I became principal, I was informed of the Student Firefighter Program, and I was rather curious as to how it worked. After a year of being principal of this school, I have come to the conclusion it must come to an end due to safety concerns I have. I will also push for the law that grants the exemption necessary for the program to continue to be repealed if the program is indeed abolished. It is dangerous to put high schoolers who do not have the proper training or life experience at all anywhere near fires or other emergencies, and the fact that a student died while fighting a fire in 1993 should have been enough to end it in my opinion. I know that this would be a major change if it's implemented, and it would cause some heartbreak, but I believe it is for the best."

"With all that said," Noriko then added. "We would not kick out any current students in the program. All students currently enrolled in the program will be allowed to stay with no restrictions. However, after this year, no more will be allowed to join."

Keiichi then set down a folder of documents on the table, telling the people he was speaking to, "Read the following documents. This is a compilation of research I have done into the volunteer fire brigades of Japan. I have found that most of them do not even equip their firefighters with any form of self-contained breathing apparatus, as they believe that only firefighters who are paid should be able to use them. Consequently, many do not respond automatically to most calls, and instead wait to be requested to the scene of calls by paid firefighters. The Yoshimatsu area is relatively unique in that every volunteer fire brigade in the city of Yoshimatsu and its immediate suburbs is equipped with breathing apparatus and are dual-dispatched with the paid Yoshimatsu Area Fire Department to at least some calls. Already, this system has problems and redundancies that should be addressed, but the fact that Harukawa uses underage high school girls as volunteer firefighters in any capacity, whether they be outside or inside a burning building, adds onto them."