Treacherous Temptations [Chaennie]

First

Roseanne jumped down from the truck, followed by Martin and Whitlock just as Engine 17 screeched to a halt from the other end of the street. They all grabbed their oxygen equipment and safety hats before turning towards the fire. Standing behind Jeon, the firefighters eagerly awaited instructions from their lieutenant who was surveying the building before them.

The house was two storey, brick built with a small fenced garden in front. As they watched however, flames licked the walls from the downstairs windows, blackening them and sending coils of smoke into the light blue sky. Clusters of neighbours lined the streets, watching with rapt horror as the house burned.

"Anyone inside?" Byun asked as he came to stand beside Jeon.

"No," answered Jun-ho who was limping towards them. "The family are on holiday and their house-sitter is that elderly woman over there," he informed, pointing to a frail old lady who was crying on a young man's shoulder on the sidewalk. "She left the stove on while she went to the shop. As soon as she saw this on her return, she called it in. "

"Gas or electric?" Byun asked.

"Electric," Jun-ho said.

"And she's sure no-one else is inside?" Jeon asked.

"Positive," Jun-ho nodded.

"OK, then this should be a simple one as we're not going to need to do a sweep for potential victims," Jeon said. "Martin, Park. I want you two venting the roof asap. Everyone else, standby for the signal and then let's put this fire out."

"Copy," Roseanne said, turning to climb up onto the back of Ladder 7 as Taehyung reached for the control panel. The strong arm swung into position and extended to rest on the eves of the pitched roof.

"Ready, Park?" Martin asked from behind her, clutching the saw in his hand.

"Yep, let's do this," Roseanne said as she started to climb, Martin right on her heels.

Jennie and Kang had walked over to check the elderly woman as soon as they arrived but since she had never been in the building, there was very little for them to do. The woman was distraught about her carelessness but unharmed. Instead, the two paramedics focused on moving the ever increasingly crowd back from the fire, with the help of Engine 17's crew who were unable to do much until the roof had been vented.

Once the area was secure, Jennie turned to watch as Roseanne Park and Will Martin climbed up the ladder. Once they reached the top, Jennie could see the two of them clipping themselves securely to the chimney before beginning their work. Park held tight to the line as Martin started up the machine. The piercing sound of the metal saw blade cutting through the tiles could barely be heard over the roar of flames below. Soon however, a plume of smoke burst from the roof, eclipsing the two firefighters momentarily.

"All good lieutenant," came Martin's voice over the radio a few seconds later.

"Roof's vented," Jeon announced. "Let's get some water on this fire now."

"Copy," said Byun, directing his men to turn on the hoses. Smith and Jisoo held a hose between them, attached to the engine, with Hart and Cha using the street water hydrant to supply theirs.

"Taehyung, run a hose up to Park and Martin. They can douse from above," Jeon said. The man nodded and turned to grasp a hose, hoisting it over his shoulder and beginning to climb. Whitlock took the other end and secured it to a nearby fire hydrant.

Jeon and Jun-ho stood back, watching along with the neighbours as the firefighters worked perfectly with each other to extinguish the fire in record time. That was what he loved about this job, Jeon mused, the team work.