Page 72 of Falling for the Firefighter
Her ears swivel constantly, as if she's trying to pick up sounds beyond human hearing—the distant roar of fire, the crackle of burning timber, any sign that the men we're trying to save are still alive. When she finally settles beside my chair, her brown eyes reflect the same worry that gnaws at my chest.
Then Mac's voice cuts through the silence, tight with strain:"Base Command, we've got a problem."
My blood turns to ice. "Go ahead, Alpha Leader."
"The chimney's blocked. Rockfall, maybe twenty feet up. We've got Williams trying to clear it, but..."A pause filled with the sound of falling stone."It's unstable. Every rock she moves threatens to bring down more."
"Can you clear it?"
"Unknown. And we're running out of time. Fire's reached the canyon mouth."
I close my eyes, visualizing the chimney formation. There had been loose rock when I climbed it—old fractures, water damage, the slow work of freeze-thaw cycles weakening the granite.
"Alpha Leader, how big is the blockage?"
"Maybe four feet of loose rock. But it's wedged tight. Williams is..."Static drowns out his words, then,"Shit. She's stuck. Her pack's caught on something."
My heart pounds as I imagine Williams trapped in the narrow shaft, rock walls pressing from both sides, loose stones threatening to bury her alive, while superheated air rises from below to cook her and the rest of Mac’s team.
"Can she back down?"
"Negative. Pack's jammed. Rodriguez is going up to help, but there's no room for two people."
This is the nightmare scenario—multiple people trapped in a vertical chimney while fire fills the canyon below them like a furnace.
"Alpha Leader, you need to cut her pack free."
"Working on it. But if we destabilize the blockage..."
He doesn't finish the sentence. Doesn't need to. If the rockfall shifts, it could crush Williams and trap everyone below her.
The radio crackles with urgent voices—Rodriguez calling up to Williams, Burke reporting that the canyon floor is heating rapidly, Martinez coordinating the evacuation of personnel who haven't yet entered the chimney.
"Still stuck. Rodriguez got her pack cut free, but the loose rock is shifting. If it comes down..."
I imagine Rodriguez positioned just below Williams, trying to help stabilize the rockfall while she works to clear the passage, ten people waiting below as fire fills their refuge.
"Base Command, this is Alpha Leader."Mac's voice cuts through the chaos."Fire's entered the canyon. Ground level becoming untenable."
I grab the radio, my mind racing through alternatives that don't exist. "Alpha Leader, status on Williams?"
Then Williams' voice cuts through, exhausted but triumphant:"Got it! I cleared the blockage!"A pause, then hervoice drops with grim realization."But Captain... the opening I made is only about eighteen inches wide. I can barely squeeze through myself."
"Shit."Mac's voice carries the weight of understanding."How many of us can fit through that gap?"
"Maybe Parker, Flint, Burke if he sucks it in real good. But you, Rodriguez, Martinez, Nguyen—no way in hell. You're all too broad in the shoulders."
Static fills the radio as Mac processes this. Then his voice, calm and tactical."Alright, here's what we're going to do. Rodriguez, climb back down. Williams, you continue up. Parker, Flint, Burke—you four get through that gap and climb to the top. The chimney opens up past the blockage, right?"
"Affirmative," I say. "Wide enough for normal climbing once you're past the squeeze."
"Good. Reach the summit and secure anchors. Drop belay lines down the exterior face of this formation. Rodriguez, Martinez, Nguyen, and I will climb the outside."
"Captain, that's suicide,"Parker’s voice cuts through."The exterior's fully exposed to the heat?—"
"It's our only option. We've got maybe five minutes before this canyon floor becomes uninhabitable."Mac's voice hardens with command authority."Parker, you're in charge of the top team. Get those anchors set."
Relief and terror war in my chest as the radio erupts with coordinated activity. Williams squeezing through the narrow gap. Parker following, her gear scraping against rock. Flint barely making it through. Burke cursing as he forces his larger frame past the blockage.
