“Mommy?” The little girl cried choking. The smoke was almost tangible. “Mommy!” she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. She listened for the sonorous sound of her mother’s voice. The only thing that she could hear was the constant roar of the flames that engulfed her room. She curled up into a ball on her bed giving up hope. The smoke and heat grew more intense, and the house was slowly falling apart. She sat up as she heard the tale tell sound of fire truck sirens. A sense of joy almost overwhelmed her, but she sat still. The truck pulled up outside the house and the men stepped outside.
Captain Charles slammed the brakes to bring the big red fire truck to a halt. He jumped out, put his helmet on, and turned to look up at the two story house. He barked orders at his men as they scrambled to put on their gear. While one man operated the latter system, two ran to the closest fire hydrant and hooked up the hose. Captain Charles then gave the signal to a man standing beside the house, which was a set, and he started pulling levers. Wooden “flames” appeared in select windows of the house, and the men sprayed each one. Eventually, they hit them all. Captain Charles then called the four men to the passenger side of the truck.
“Alright guys, good work. You managed to put out the “fire” in about fifty-five minutes. Not bad. We’ll go over entering next week.” With that they piled into the truck and headed back to HQ. When they arrived, everyone went to the break room. Charles finished polishing the truck and soon stepped into the room. It was the same white and red as the rest of the station. It had a 42” flat screen hanging on the wall closest to the door, with a couch in front of it. The back wall had three tall windows and a pool table with racks and chairs loosely around it. Charles’s office was just to the left of the pool table. It had a window so he could see his men. He unlocked the door and went inside. He hadn’t been sitting ten minutes, when the alarm went off. He burst out of his office as the dispatcher gave him directions and the address of the fire. Everyone was ready by the time he reached the truck and got it started.
Charles had the petal to the floor all the way to the house. Sweat beaded on his brow from the anticipation of the emergency. His stomach churned, he was always worried before he arrived, simply because he never knew what exactly he was running into. He slammed on the breaks, bringing the truck to a halt. He gave his men orders as he jumped out of the driver’s seat. The men scrambled to the nearest fire hydrant and returned to the truck. They started working on the house as Charles spoke to a police man. As they talked, the couple that owned the house ran up to him.
“Sir, you have to help! My daughter is trapped in her room! Please, please help her!” The woman squalled. Charles’ heart stopped. He knew his men weren’t able to do entering yet. A sick feeling came over him, and he grew nervous. That is when an idea came to him. He ran over to the two men operating the hose.
“Willows, I am entering the house, there is a girl trapped in there. You are in charge, and keep spraying the bottom floor!” Captain Charles ordered. He then put on his gear and grabbed and axe. He ran up to the door and, after trying to open it, chopped it out of the way. He burst into the house, and quickly surveyed the room. The living room was almost gone, and the boards that used to be part of the second story were about to fail. He could feel the heat of the fire, even though he was wearing his gear. He listened for anything besides the roaring fire, and found nothing. Charles located the stairs, and rushed up them, carefully listening for any sounds. Once he reached the top, he stood and still heard nothing. He slowly made his way down the left hallway, and every board creaked loudly under each boot. It was then that he heard crying; crying of a little girl. Charles froze. He listened more closely, and found the door where the crying was coming from. He stood outside the door and surveyed it. He found that it was lodged shut by a board. He decided to let the girl know he was there so he wouldn’t scare her.
“Hello? Is anyone in there?” Charles asked. The crying stopped.
“Yeah.” Said a small scared voice. Charles felt relief that the girl was alive.
“Ok. I’m fixing to bust this door down so I can get in, alright?” Said Charles over the roar of the fire.
“Ok.” The girl coughed. Charles picked up his axe and made one good swing, hitting the board squarely. The intense heat made the work difficult, and he had sweat rolling off his face. The board disintegrated after a few blows. He then proceeded to beat down the door, periodically checking for the sound of the little girl. Just before he laid the last blow, a loud crash came from the other side of the door. He heard the girl squeak and he froze.
“Little girl? Are you alright?” he asked mid swing. After no response, he busted down the door. He looked around and his heart dropped at what he saw. There on the bed lay the little girl under some burning boards. He rushed over to the bed, and checked the girl for a pulse. Good, she is alive, He thought to himself. He pushed the boards off, and picked up the girl in his arms. He got down the stairs, and just before he got to the front door, another burning board dropped down inches from his face. He backed up just in time. He jumped across the board and burst out of the door.
Charles landed in the green grass, with the girl in his arms. He took off his jacket and laid the girl in it, after he threw is mask off. EMS personnel surrounded him, along with his crew. He slowly caught his breath, and felt the relief of fresh, smoke free air. He walked up to the truck and Lt. Smith followed.
“Captain, you are a hero.” The Lt. told him. Charles looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Lt. Smith, remind me to never take up smoking.” He chuckled and Smith laughed with him.
Charles went home after he made sure the girl was fine. He had had an exhausting day, and his body was soar. He unlocked his front door, and went in his little white house. It was big enough for two, not counting his German shepherd, Maxis. He went into the kitchen, picked up Maxis’ food bowl, filled it, and put it back down on the floor. Maxis dug in, and his loud crunching could be heard all through the house. Charles walked into the living room; a large room filled with a couch a recliner and a fireplace. He lit a small fire and sat in the recliner, which was placed in front of the fire. He reached out to an end table and picked up a picture. His eyes watered as he looked at the picture.
“Oh, Sarah…” he sighed; “If only I could have saved you my love…” he said as he spun the gold band on his left hand…
