Home
This is the prologue to the ERT book in my POV. I have been working on this for awhile and know I need to add more detail, facts, better grammer etc. etc. But for now I am attempting to get the base concept down. Please excuse any spelling errors (Not my strong point :p) but here it is:
“Ladder 9, Pumper 5, Battalion 3 respond code three to mutual aid on 1-4-7-2 South Hampton Street for working structure fire with entrapment on the third floor” and then the station’s bell sounds. That is what I wake up to; it seems I had just fallen asleep too. I roll out of bed and make my way to the drop pole in the middle of the station’s living room. As I hit the pad at the bottom of the pole I am now fully awake, without thinking I hurry to put on my bunker pants and grab my coat and helmet. I crawl into the rear middle seat of the Peirce Ladder that awaits me with lights flashing and the red garage doors rising. Within seconds I feel the truck taking off into the cold, dark February night. I hear Lt. Jason Anders say into the radio “Ladder 9 to base we are responding code 3 to working structure fire on South Hampton street, we have on board ALS medical and an entry team.”
“Copy that Ladder 9” cackles back the radio.
Our engineer Fred Brown hits the air horn as we soar through a traffic stop, we hear engine 5 do the same. The Chief is two blocks ahead of us in battalion 3; Chief Mike Gundref is one of most highly regarded fire chiefs in Maine. I see a flash of color as we blow by battalion 3 and pull up to the curb by the house that has orange waves exploding through the windows. I jump out after Alex Robinson, a man who I trust with my life every time I enter a building. Fred jumps out of the Truck after putting it in park to put down the stabilizers and raises the ladder. Alex, Jason and I gather around Chief Gundref and the Chief from station 4. We get orders that there are two people on the third floor that have not been located, it is our job to find them and rescue them. We go back to the ladder and position it at a window on the third floor and begin our ascent up, we then craw through the window feeling the heat from the inferno within. It is hard breathing through my air mask; I have to remember to take shallow breaths. I walk lead with Alex and Jason close behind. We go into the first room and search the closets yelling and hoping for a reply. We hear none, so we move on. We reach a second room I feel the door, it’s hot. We prepare to enter the room; I crouch down and breach the door just then fire leaps out at me but Alex opens up the hose and knocks the fire down. We enter and I check the closet nothing, but Alex yells for us to come over to where he is. We find a man and women unconscious and badly burned. They are not moving and the burns cover their whole body. “Entry to command, victims found we are coming out now” I say into my radio. “Copy that entry, bring them down we have EMS on scene” My radio crackles back.
We reach for the bodies, Jason grabs the man and Alex the women and I haul out the hose. We make our way to the window trying to avoid the flames where ever possible. The sound of crackling fire surrounds us. I look back just in time to see a beam fall smashing Jason to the ground. Jason is lying on the ground his leg bent in ways it shouldn’t be with the rescued man’s head crushed under the beam. “Entry to Command MAYDAY, I repeat MAYDAY firefighter down third floor central hallway”
“Command to Entry we copy, we are sending a second team up to help. What is your oxygen status? Over”
I check my gauge I have about 3 minutes left, “Oxygen check” I yell to Alex. “Four minutes” comes a yelled reply. “Command this is entry one, we have three minutes until we need to get out. Send entry 2 up, we can’t stay any longer. Over” I make my way to Jason to see that he will be okay until the second team arrives. I then yell up to Alex that we need to get going. We turn and can already see the entry team making their way through the window. We pass them and make our way through the window ourselves with the bodies. I let Alex go first and then I climb on the Ladder. I peer back at Jason as the Ladder makes its decent, only to see another beam fall and take Jason and the victim through the floor with it into what is sure to be a fiery hell below. It is too late, I can’t do anything. All I can do is listen to the radio chatter as I descend from the ladder.
“Command to entry two, what the hell just happened?”
“Entry to command, Firefighter Anders has just fallen through to the first floor, the second gave way. Rescue is needed on the first floor.”
“Copy that entry two, Command to entry 3, grab a hose and get the hell in there!”
Fred looks at me; he tries to give me a reassuring look though he and I both know.
I walk to where the chief is stationed. He looks at me and says “I am sure we will find him,” Sure enough the radio crackles back with “we found the MAYDAY, Jason Anders, he is not responding to oxygen, prepare ALS.”
Chief looks at me, then he turns to the radio and command board. I go back to ladder sit down while I change out my air bottle. I watch as the paramedics run to where the others are caring out a lifeless body. I can hear the charge of a defibulaitor then the high pitched discharge. I can hear the guys’ yelling as the ceiling comes down. I watch as one ambulance pulls away and shuts its lights off and drives away with one dead body. The second ambulance will do the same, only with my brother.
“Ladder 9, Pumper 5, Battalion 3 respond code three to mutual aid on 1-4-7-2 South Hampton Street for working structure fire with entrapment on the third floor” and then the station’s bell sounds. That is what I wake up to; it seems I had just fallen asleep too. I roll out of bed and make my way to the drop pole in the middle of the station’s living room. As I hit the pad at the bottom of the pole I am now fully awake, without thinking I hurry to put on my bunker pants and grab my coat and helmet. I crawl into the rear middle seat of the Peirce Ladder that awaits me with lights flashing and the red garage doors rising. Within seconds I feel the truck taking off into the cold, dark February night. I hear Lt. Jason Anders say into the radio “Ladder 9 to base we are responding code 3 to working structure fire on South Hampton street, we have on board ALS medical and an entry team.”
“Copy that Ladder 9” cackles back the radio.
Our engineer Fred Brown hits the air horn as we soar through a traffic stop, we hear engine 5 do the same. The Chief is two blocks ahead of us in battalion 3; Chief Mike Gundref is one of most highly regarded fire chiefs in Maine. I see a flash of color as we blow by battalion 3 and pull up to the curb by the house that has orange waves exploding through the windows. I jump out after Alex Robinson, a man who I trust with my life every time I enter a building. Fred jumps out of the Truck after putting it in park to put down the stabilizers and raises the ladder. Alex, Jason and I gather around Chief Gundref and the Chief from station 4. We get orders that there are two people on the third floor that have not been located, it is our job to find them and rescue them. We go back to the ladder and position it at a window on the third floor and begin our ascent up, we then craw through the window feeling the heat from the inferno within. It is hard breathing through my air mask; I have to remember to take shallow breaths. I walk lead with Alex and Jason close behind. We go into the first room and search the closets yelling and hoping for a reply. We hear none, so we move on. We reach a second room I feel the door, it’s hot. We prepare to enter the room; I crouch down and breach the door just then fire leaps out at me but Alex opens up the hose and knocks the fire down. We enter and I check the closet nothing, but Alex yells for us to come over to where he is. We find a man and women unconscious and badly burned. They are not moving and the burns cover their whole body. “Entry to command, victims found we are coming out now” I say into my radio. “Copy that entry, bring them down we have EMS on scene” My radio crackles back.
We reach for the bodies, Jason grabs the man and Alex the women and I haul out the hose. We make our way to the window trying to avoid the flames where ever possible. The sound of crackling fire surrounds us. I look back just in time to see a beam fall smashing Jason to the ground. Jason is lying on the ground his leg bent in ways it shouldn’t be with the rescued man’s head crushed under the beam. “Entry to Command MAYDAY, I repeat MAYDAY firefighter down third floor central hallway”
“Command to Entry we copy, we are sending a second team up to help. What is your oxygen status? Over”
I check my gauge I have about 3 minutes left, “Oxygen check” I yell to Alex. “Four minutes” comes a yelled reply. “Command this is entry one, we have three minutes until we need to get out. Send entry 2 up, we can’t stay any longer. Over” I make my way to Jason to see that he will be okay until the second team arrives. I then yell up to Alex that we need to get going. We turn and can already see the entry team making their way through the window. We pass them and make our way through the window ourselves with the bodies. I let Alex go first and then I climb on the Ladder. I peer back at Jason as the Ladder makes its decent, only to see another beam fall and take Jason and the victim through the floor with it into what is sure to be a fiery hell below. It is too late, I can’t do anything. All I can do is listen to the radio chatter as I descend from the ladder.
“Command to entry two, what the hell just happened?”
“Entry to command, Firefighter Anders has just fallen through to the first floor, the second gave way. Rescue is needed on the first floor.”
“Copy that entry two, Command to entry 3, grab a hose and get the hell in there!”
Fred looks at me; he tries to give me a reassuring look though he and I both know.
I walk to where the chief is stationed. He looks at me and says “I am sure we will find him,” Sure enough the radio crackles back with “we found the MAYDAY, Jason Anders, he is not responding to oxygen, prepare ALS.”
Chief looks at me, then he turns to the radio and command board. I go back to ladder sit down while I change out my air bottle. I watch as the paramedics run to where the others are caring out a lifeless body. I can hear the charge of a defibulaitor then the high pitched discharge. I can hear the guys’ yelling as the ceiling comes down. I watch as one ambulance pulls away and shuts its lights off and drives away with one dead body. The second ambulance will do the same, only with my brother.
