The Race

Its a saturday night the wife and i are on the couch and the kiddos are all in bed...
The movie we rented is getting to the good part near the end... when from the kitchen
my radio tones and beeps... station 1 firefighters needed at... off the couch i fly and put on some socks and slip on my burks... and out the door with a quick i love you to the wife...
i jump into the "Beast" that is what i call the red suburbon... and its a quick drive 4 block drive to the fire station... i grab my bunker gear out of the back as two other firefighters pull the engine out of the bay... i climb up and into the crew compartment... its a little warm outside so i crank down the window to let the late summer air blow through the cab...
off into the night we race with static filled radio chatter along with the wail of the sirens and flashing red and white lights as we make our way through the city... the horn blaring through intercections to clear the way... its late not many cars on the streets and traffic on the highway is light... we are making good time
At this very moment someones house is burning... and all i can think about is how everything they have is inside that burning structure... and i hope everyone made it out... right about then we turned off the highway and made our way down the road to the house... the smell of smoke fills the compartment... i can see the red-orange glow lighting up the night sky over the top of the trees... we where almost there...
i strap on my scba and put on my mask and and test the airflow... all is working... we pull infront of the house... i am straping on my helmet as i climb out of the cab... and make my way around the back of the firetruck the back of the house is well involved... the line crew pulls the skid... and makes ready to enter the house... as the officers take a quick 360 around the house to make sure the scene is safe...
The call comes out over the radio... to enter the house... the line team starts to enter with axe in hand i follow the lineteam in... smoke is rolling everywhere we stay low to stay out of the extreme hot air and the visibality is better when ur low... we crawl our way throught the house looking for the base of the fire... we find it in the kitchen... and it is fully envolved... and hot!
As the nozzleman opens the bail and starts putting water on the fire i look down and realize that i am crawling through glowing coals... my heart is racing the adrenaline is pumping through my veins... i have to think about my breathing... and slow down my air intake... and focus on the task at hand...
i learned at fireschool in the military to control my fear when engulfed in fire... if you panic in a fire there is a good chance you will die... its only human nature to run from fire just as all animals on this planet run from it... however a special breed of men run into it... to save others property and lives... and on this night thank God the family made it out... we are trying to save their home...
In short order being able to hit the base of the fire we are able to put out most of the fire in the kitchen... but the fire had compromized the celing is burning up into the room above us... the line team makes it way up a back stairway and into the room above the kitchen... and puts out the fire. (more to come)