Page 71 of Rescued Dreams
Della laughed.
“Kaminsky too,” Ridge said. “Both of you go up on the roof.”
Making holes in the roof allowed smoke and heat buildup inside the building to exit, clearing the air inside and releasing some of the heat. That would make it easier for the firefighters entering from below to see their way through the structure.
“Chief James is behind us.” Della pulled up.
They all climbed out. “Get the ladder going,” Ridge said. “I’ll check in. He’ll have a plan already.”
Each of them said, “Copy that.”
Ridge jogged to Macon. Bryce and the Westside lieutenant met him there. The chief studied the fire for a few seconds, his eyes intense under the brim of his helmet. “Okay, we go floor by floor from the ground, but I want two pairs to get to the third-floor conference room first while the others start a search. That’s where the victims should be. And I want water on the west wall. Foster?”
“Vent the roof?” Ridge asked.
Chief James nodded. “Exactly. Get to it, people. And be safe.”
They dispersed to their individual crews. Ridge ran to the truck, where Della had the controls for the ladder. Ridge got his pole and climbed up behind Izan and Kaminsky.
“Spread out.” Ridge took the left side, opting to use the building’s own ventilation system to help him. He could also break some windows in the upper floors by leaning over the edge and hammering the glass with this pole.
Izan hammered his spiked pole into the asphalt of the roof.
Kaminsky had the same idea as Ridge and pulled back a vent. He knocked it free and hammered into the hole with his pole, creating greater airflow than there had been before.
“Whoa!”
Ridge turned to Izan in time to see flames whip up through the hole he had made.
“Things are nasty down there!”
“Let’s get this done and get back downstairs,” Ridge ordered. He went to a spot a few feet from Izan’s fiery hole and slammed down through the roof. The spike got hung up on the layers between him and the floor below, or the drop ceiling like that school.
Amelia was going to be upset she’d missed a fire like this. Such a large-scale callout didn’t happen often.
From the radio between the open lapels of his jacket, he heard the other crews report in as they entered.
Ridge pulled the pole out and backed up fast. Flames burst out the opening, spraying sparks. “Chief,” he radioed in. “Lot of activity up here on the roof.” Conditions inside had to be bad for there to be flames and sparks like this. “We’re about done here.”
“Copy that, Foster,” the chief responded. “Take the ladder down to three and get in through a window. We need to get those people out.”
“Got it, Chief.” If whoever was funneling those people out of the conference room down the hall on three heard that, they could find the window and he could retrieve the people with his ladder. Get them out that way so the victims didn’t have to go down flights of stairs to safety.
Back on the ladder, they climbed down far enough for Della to lower them to the third floor. “We need to break that window.”
Kaminsky moved fast to the end of the ladder and used his pole to break the glass. Hot air, smoke, and flames flashed out the window. The floater ducked down on the ladder, crying out. The flames came out so fast they seemed to wrap around him, disguising him from view before they billowed up into the sky.
“Kaminsky!” Ridge rushed up the ladder, Izan right behind him.
He gently rolled the firefighter over and spotted some light burns on the man’s cheeks, giving him a flushed appearance. “We need to get him down.”
Izan said, “I’ll get the basket.” He moved down the ladder faster than Ridge had seen anyone else do it. Trying to make up for what had happened in the training house with Amelia?
He had zero problem with the guy going above and beyond for a while.
Ridge shot an assessing glance at the fire raging high through the open window. They’d need to get water on it before they could evacuate people. He passed that information to the chief, who told him to get Kaminsky down, then take the hose back up.
Izan returned with the basket, and they slid the stunned but awake firefighter onto the backboard with its high sides. They strapped him so he didn’t fall out and brought him down so the EMTs could take care of him.
