The Fighter

Prologue

Prologue

Heat hits my face as I step out of the truck. I could tell already, by the loud crackle of flames and the over powering smell of the smoke, that this was not going to be easy. The house was fully engulfed in yellow and orange flames. Black smoke poured out of the roof. I grabbed my air pack and put it on my back. It weighed me down at first. I grabbed the ridged straps, and pulled until I could no longer feel the pack. I placed my mask around my head and over my face. With a turn of a switch, the air turned on. I clicked the button where my nose was and breathed in the smooth air that had filled my mask. Carefully, I steadied my breath and put my helmet on my head.

Cautiously, I approach my brothers. I gave them thumbs up through my thick black gloves. We all looked like matching siblings. The brown with yellow striped coat and bunker pants and out black boots make us who we are. I grabbed the long large hose with a few of my brothers. One had the cold heavy nosil. I myself had the middle with four or five others. The hose was long and more powerful than anyone could handle on their own. It wasn't long before I got warm underneath my coat. It had already been twenty minutes. Our coats are heavy and insulated. They were bulky and made to keep the fire out and the heat in. On cold fall nights like this, they keep us warm without fail. I ignored my body heat rising and the sweat pouring down my body, and held the hose with all I had The water sprayed furiously out of the nosil knocking the flames down as it went side to side.

"Duke, you're out" one of the guys spoke up. I hadn't realized that it had been an hour since put my air pack, and now it was empty. Kyle took over my place while I went and got another pack. I loosened the straps and took the pack off my back. Laying it on the ground, I quickly turned the bottle off and switched it for another one. I slowly set the bottle in the pack and secured it in place. Once it was in place I threw it on my back and adjusted the straps like I did before. This time no matter how tight the straps were, I could feel the weight of the pack on my back. Those suckers get heavy fast.

Once I was back in action, I resumed my job and Kyle went to go meet with Jet so they could go inside. It wasn't long before the flames finally calmed and we were able to put the rest of the fire out. The ashes and debris still steaming with heat. Taking the hose, in we used the thermo imager to determine what was still hot and what needed to be sprayed again. When it was over, I headed over to the EMT's to be checked out. I went through one and a half bottles of oxygen. Normally, if a guy goes through two, he needs to be checked out to make sure he's okay. But since I am a girl and I am smaller and more petite then the men, one and a half bottles were a lot for me to take in.

Back at the station after the call, we washed all the trucks and hoses that were used. I helped lay the hose on the pavement outside to dry until the next morning. The trucks had to be hosed down, until the red was bright and shiny. Our job isn't done. It never is until the next time the pager goes off.