The Firefighter

Chapter 2 - The Calendar

Charlotte walked into the farm kitchen and greeted everyone who was there in her usual friendly manner. She glanced up at the Calendar and the month of March was showing. This Calendar had pictures of the local firefighters that had posed for charity, with their fire outfits opened to reveal strong, tanned arms and hairy chests. This month's delicious firefighter was Oliver. He looked totally hot in the pose he had struck up against the bale of hay, with a cute smile gracing his face.

She knew that a firefighter is a rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property and the environment as well as to rescue people and animals from dangerous situations. Since she loved to work with and save animals, she found that men who rescued animals from dangerous situations were even more of a draw card for her.

After eating breakfast, she wondered back out to check on the ewe and new lamb and they were fine. Then she smelt something in the air. It smelt distinctly like smoke. A faint smell of bush fire smoke but smoke none-the-less. She rushed out and gazed over towards the hills and a plume of fire and smoke could be seen in the distance. Since the wind speed was low, there was no immediate danger, but she needed to warn everybody to evacuate. She wondered why the DFES (Department of Fire and Emergency Services) or the RFS (Rural Fire Service) hadn't contacted them as there was usually an early warning system in place. Charlotte ran over to the farm bell and rang it loudly in a sequence that advised everyone about the fire. Then she found Ben and got him and the others to start loading the sheep, horses, cats and dogs into the farm trucks for removal to a safer place. The landline phone line was down, probably due to the fires, so she called the DFES, RFS and her neighbours to let them know about the fire and that evacuation had begun. Everyone was rushing around and grabbing valuables to take with them. Charlotte collected the fireproof safe as it could melt at very high temperatures. In half an hour, they had cleared the farm animals and were safely travelling away. Charlotte was in the last SUV at the back of the convoy when she remembered that she had left her family photos behind and that they weren't in the fireproof safe. She told Ben that she was going back, and he advised her not to. However, she knew that they couldn't replace the paper photos as they didn't have digital copies, and these would burn into tiny ashes. Her memories of her family and friends would be lost. So, she turned the SUV around and raced back to get the photos.

When she returned, the fire was closer. She ran upstairs, grabbed the photo album and rushed back down again. Unfortunately, the gum trees had flammable leaves, even when green. The fire was on the border of their farm fence and the fence posts made of wood were burning a brilliant yellow. She could feel the heat radiating from the flames. Soon the fire cut off her road exit, with flames burning next to both sides of the road and a tree falling across the sand road.

Charlotte felt a cold fear down her back as she realised that it was probably too late to leave. She grabbed her mobile phone but couldn't get a signal. No bars. She remembered the firefighting techniques she had been taught as a fire warden in an office, for a summer job, a few years ago. She grabbed the hose pipe and started watering the outer sides of the house and the roof, wanting to save the house, if possible. A fleeting feeling of desperation crossed her heart as she wondered what would happen if she died in this blaze. Then she heard the sirens of a fire engine approaching.