Page 9 of Through the Fire
The fire engine’s siren wailed loudly as it turned the corner and came into view. Hugh jogged back to his squad car, backing it up a few feet so the truck could roll close to the burning house. A second fire department vehicle—a rescue truck—followed, and Hugh’s car moved to block the road again.
Feeling useless, Kit did her best to stay out of the way. It grated on her to not be helping. After eight years with her old department in Wisconsin, she’d been at the point of almost always knowing what to do in any situation. Now, she felt like she’d been reduced to a rookie again.
Shaking off her moment of self-pity, she watched as a handful of firefighters got out of the trucks, pulling out equipment and unrolling hoses with quick efficiency. Hugh headed toward the firefighter who was giving orders next to the engine.
“Good thing it’s unoccupied,” the fireman said as he attached a hose to the side of the truck. “We’re running on a skeleton crew here.” He sent Kit a quick glance before refocusing on his task. “You must be new.”
“Yes.” Since his hands were occupied, she didn’t hold hers out for him to shake. “Kit Jernigan.”
“Steve Springfield.” Although he didn’t actually smile, still focused on his task, his raised eyebrows made him look amused. “Hugh’s your PTO?”
Uncertain, she looked at Hugh, her stomach dropping at the idea. She knew she’d be assigned to an officer for her probationary training period, but she hadn’t realized that it would be Hugh. He didn’t seem all that impressed with her, so she hoped it wouldn’t be two endless and miserable months until she was allowed to take calls on her own.
“That I am,” Hugh answered her unspoken question.
Steve tightened the hose connection before sending Kit another fast but sympathetic glance. “Good luck with that.”
“Hey!” Hugh protested, but they both ignored him.
“Thanks,” Kit said dryly. Steve called out to someone manning the controls at the top of the truck before flipping down the face shield of his helmet and jogging toward the flaming house, hose nozzle in hand. He stopped to wave back a firefighter heading toward the house while carrying a wicked-looking ax.
“It’s too far gone!” Steve shouted over the roar of the flames and the rumbling engines. “We need to keep it from spreading to the trees. Help Johnson!” The ax-wielding firefighter nodded and hurried toward the west side of the house.
Before Steve could move any closer to the fire, Kit called out, “Need help? I haven’t had firefighter training, but I’d be happy to do any grunt work.” Belatedly, she looked at Hugh. It hadn’t crossed her mind to check with him before offering to help. She wasn’t accustomed to asking permission from anyone except her sergeant or lieutenant. The whole starting-at-the-bottom thing was going to take some getting used to. “Unless Hugh had a different plan?”
He smirked at her. “Nice attempted save, but that’s a good idea. Where do you need us, Steve?”
“Thanks.” Steve whistled sharply, catching the attention of the firefighter on top of the engine. “Calvarone! Volunteers!” He pointed at Kit and Hugh before turning back to the fire.
“Both of you grab helmets from the cab, and I’ll put you to work.” Calvarone waved down at them from his perch on top of the truck before refocusing on the controls. As Kit and Hugh moved toward the passenger-side door of the engine, Steve’s booming shout made Kit’s head whip toward the fire.
“Back! Get back!” he yelled, and the firefighters retreated. One side of the roof sagged before the entire west side of the house started to droop. It felt like time slowed as the house caved in on itself with a deafening crash, sending flaming debris flying over the heads of the fleeing firefighters. Even Kit ducked, although she wasn’t close enough to be in danger, and her gaze raked the area, looking to see who was injured. Her hand reached for a nonexistent portable radio, and she cursed her lack of equipment before remembering Hugh was there as well. She turned toward him, but he was already calling for an ambulance.
“Johnson! Lee! Chausky!” Steve, upright and appearing unhurt, immediately started calling for each firefighter’s status. When the last one answered that he was okay, Kit felt her shoulders finally drop as the tension left her. She met Hugh’s gaze, and they exchanged a look of utter relief.
“Firefighters are nuts,” Hugh said as he fished out two helmets from the back seat of the cab. “Everyone knows you run away from fire, not toward it.”
She laughed. “Just like everyone knows you run away from the sound of gunfire, not toward it?”
Handing one of the helmets to her, he shrugged. “I didn’t say cops aren’t nuts, too.”
Kit spent the next few hours in a borrowed fire helmet, fetching tools and bottles of drinking water and everything else that the firefighters requested. Hugh and Theo helped as well, and Kit felt her first-day nerves ease slightly. It was good to see that her new partners were willing to lend a hand, even when it wasn’t part of their job description. When the flames were out and the firefighters were digging through the ashes and blackened wreckage, searching for smoldering embers, Kit approached Steve. She was careful to stay out of everyone’s way and far from anything that looked like it could fall on her head.
“Need anything else?” She handed Steve a water bottle, which he accepted with a weary smile of thanks.
“We’re pretty much done here, except for the mopping up.” Unscrewing the lid, he took a drink before slogging back into the blackened shell that had been a house just hours earlier. Looking over his shoulder, he called, “Thanks for your help.”
“No problem.” Now that she was standing still, Kit realized how tight her muscles had gotten. Putting her hands on her lower back, she stretched out her spine as she surveyed the scene. Water from the hoses and melting snow created a muddy moat around the burned skeleton of the ruined house, adding to the desolate picture.
“What a mess,” Hugh muttered, echoing her thoughts as he walked up next to her.
Kit turned toward him. “Has someone contacted the owners?”
“I left a message, but they haven’t called back yet.” He frowned, adjusting his borrowed fire helmet. “They’ve owned this place for decades. They’re going to be crushed.”
“At least no one was hurt,” Kit said, watching Steve as he lifted a blackened board.
Hugh made a wordless sound of agreement.
