We stood on the roof of the old warehouse, smiling at each other. John Houseman was a hose man on Truck 62 with me. I am the Captain in charge of the crew of Truck 62 on B-Shift. Standing on the ladder a few feet away from us was Paul Raglesh. He was the other hose man assigned to Truck 62. On the ground, Randy Singletary stood near the controls of the aerial platform, watching the rest of us carefully. Randy was my equipment operator.
We had just completed cutting and opening the roof of the warehouse that was burning under us. It was a textbook and routine assignment for a truck company. The warehouse had once been the site of a large wood trim mill. Now it is used as a storage facility for old furniture that had been donated to a local ministry. We knew the place well, Over the years, a number of small fires had broken out in the refuse that seemed to accumulate with the old furniture.
This time was a bit different. The fire had gone undiscovered for almost a day. As it had smoldered, a large section of the warehouse was now involved with fire. Engine 62 and Engine 48 were mounting an aggressive interior attack using 2.5 inch hand lines. The battalion chief had ordered us, Truck 62, to open the roof as close over the seat of the fire as possible. That put us on the roof with a quickie saw, axes, and pry bars.
John handled the saw. He always handled the saw. John was 6' 6" of muscle, grit, and sinew. He and I had entered the academy at the same time. We were in the same rookie class 22 years ago. John had never taken a promotional exam, while I took every exam that was offered. He liked the heavy lifting and the physical labor required by a hose man on a truck company. I was looking for promotions leading to eventual retirement. Our paths through the fire department had brought us back together on Truck 62.
John made the cuts to do a standard ventilation opening. He was precise and handled that heavy gas-powered quickie saw like it was a surgeon's scalpel. The cut-out for the roof opening pivoted on the center rafter perfectly. Immediately, a heavy smoke column filled the opening as the heat and smoke inside billowed out. I knew that the crews inside would notice immediate relief as conditions eased up.
I was standing close to John as we sized up the ventilation and gathered tools. Suddenly, I saw John lean back and then lean forward as he tried to gather his balance. His hand shot out and hit me on the shoulder, driving me back toward the parapet wall around the roof of the building. I fell backward, landing heavily on my back. The composite cylinder that I wore on my back jammed between my shoulder blades, stunning me for a second. I looked up to see what the hell was happening, and I saw John. He had a surprised look on his face through the mask of his self-contained breathing apparatus. I watched in horror as he disappeared down into the darkness below, as a huge tongue of flame leapt skyward through the ventilation hole.
I crawled to the edge of the hole, which was now much wider. The edges had a spongy feel, telling me instantly that the rest of the roof was dangerously compromised. Looking down, I saw a scene out of Dante's inferno. I felt someone grab my ankle and pull backward just as another chunk of the roof flaked away. I scrambled back to the ladder and quickly followed Paul down. As I scrambled down the ladder, I thumbed the push to talk button on the microphone clipped to my SCBA harness. I immediately screamed, "Man Down, Man Down, Truck 62". I hit the ground running toward the command post, jerking my helmet and face mask away.
Battalion Chief Andy Spellman saw me coming. He had heard the emergency call and was already giving orders over the radio. The backup crews had heard the man down call and were already running toward the door. I heard the call for a third and fourth alarm go out. I pulled up and Andy looked at me.
"What happened?"
"We finished the ventilation cut and everything seemed normal. Then I saw John start to stumble, and he pushed me backward. I fell and when I was able to look back, I saw him disappear down the hole."
"He stepped into the ventilation opening?"
"No. I think the roof gave way underneath him. He shoved me back to the parapet wall, which probably kept me from going down with him."
Andy nodded and issued more orders, giving a better location to look for John.
An ambulance pulled up, lights and sirens going full tilt. Shortly thereafter, two more engine companies, a heavy rescue company, and another truck company arrived. Andy was busy giving instructions. Finally, he looked at me when everyone was moving.
"Kevin, get the rest of your guys and put your truck back together. You're done for this one. Get some water or coffee and find a place out of the way."
'
I nodded and headed to where the other guys were waiting. I issued some instructions and found a place on the far side of the truck. I started to sit down on the step going up to the jump seats on the truck but ended up sagging down with my elbows on my knees. All I could see was the look on John's face as he disappeared into the blackness of that hole. I retched until I was dry heaving.
Paul and Randy must have heard me and came to where I was still sitting in a state of shock. They didn't say anything. But helped me up to sit on the steps on the truck. They stood in a close huddle with me until we heard the radio crackle again.
"Truck 33, Command"
"Command"
"We are headed out with one casualty. Have the EMTs meet us at the door."
The EMTs were already on their way to the door. My guys and I came around the tail end of our truck and headed that way as well. Truck 33 came out of the smoke in the doorway and laid John on the gurney. The EMTs went to work immediately. We watched as the straps on the airpac were cut, and the bottle tossed to one side. In short order, John's helmet followed, as did the mask. I could see that the Lexan shield on the front of John's helmet was melted like a slab of cheese onto the face mask and wrapped around the Truck 63 shield on the front of the helmet. When his mask came off, I caught a glimpse of his eyes, half open, and his lips turning a nasty blue color.
The EMTs cut away his bunker gear as one of them pulled John toward him on the gurney and began intubation as the others worked. The bag went on and for the first time, I saw John's chest rise and fall as the EMT squeezed the bag. John's bunker gear had protected him for the most part. But I knew that even that equipment couldn't protect him from the kind of temperatures he had endured. There was also the possibility of internal injuries from the fall.
Another of the EMTs began to attach leads to John's chest and legs. I heard the machine sitting between his legs beep a couple of times. I couldn't see the paper, so I had no idea if his heart was working or not. All I could do was pray that John still had a pulse because the EMTs weren't doing chest compressions. The crew of the ambulance finally pulled the cart toward the back door and lifted the gurney, slammed the door, and left the scene with full lights and sirens. This was turning into a really shitty shift.
&&&&&
By the time the ambulance left, the Deputy Chief of the department was on the scene. He had not taken command, but was gathering information. There would be a departmental investigation in a few days, and I knew he wanted to get as much information as possible as quickly as it was available. The Chaplains offer were already making the proper notifications. Just before the Deputy Chief left, he told the Bat Chief to our truck company and send us back to the station.
Back at the station, Randy pulled the truck into the station bay. The first order of business was to put the truck back into ready condition. The rest of the crew did that. I had paperwork to attend to and I went to my office. We were officially out of service because we were now down one man. It was only about 3 hours until shift change at 6 AM, so I was sure that we would be out of service until C Shift began to show up. I leaned back in my desk chair and closed my eyes. John's face just before he disappeared kept flashing across my vision.
I heard my personal cell phone ring in the bedroom adjacent to my office. I never carry the phone when we get a call. When I found the phone, I knew it was my wife. She was frantic, and I could hear the fear in her voice.
"Kevin! I heard the news. Was that John? Is he ok?"
She was crying as she talked. It really didn't register that she was so distraught at the time. John and I had a lot of history, and he was a frequent visitor to our home. He and his wife lived a couple of streets away from us. We spend a lot of time together off-duty. Joan and Katy had grown as close as John and me over the years. I suppose you would consider John more of a bother to me than just a friend.
"Yes. It was John."
"Oh God. Is he ok?"
"I don't know. He took a hard fall and was right into the middle of the fire. He wasn't conscious or breathing when they brought him out. I don't know anything else yet."
She was blubbering over the phone. I listened for a few seconds.
'Katy. You need to call Joan. She is going to need a lot of support."
My wife managed to stifle some of the sobs and crying long enough to let me know that she would head to Joan and John's house. She hung up abruptly, leaving me in shock and not processing things very well. I got up and went to the fire station kitchen, where I poured a cup of coffee. The coffee was made before we were dispatched to the warehouse fire. The pot was still hot, so I poured a cup and sat down. I took a sip and found that the coffee with thick and bitter, but it was coffee. Slowly, the other members of the crew filtered in and did the same. There wasn't much conversation around the table.
&&&&&
Shift change happened. The incoming crew had heard the news and things were a bit somber as we made the shift change quietly. I climbed into my Bronco and headed home to find the house dark. Both of our kids in school. It was only about 8 Am when I got home. Katy wasn't there. I assumed she was with Joan.
I took a long hot shower and changed clothes, deciding to head over to Joan and John's house. I hoped to find that the hospital had called with some word about John. Katy's car sat in the driveway, so I parked on the street and headed to the open front door. The front door was open behind the glass door and stepped into the house. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it certainly was not what I found.
&&&&&
I saw two women in the huge recliner that was the usual domain of John. The recliner was oversized to fit his considerable bulk. The massive chair was reclined all the way back and two bodies occupied it. They were wrapped in each other's arms and focused intently on a deep and quite ardent kiss. They were so in their own world that they didn't hear the glass door open and close. I stood in the doorway, transfixed.
