Chapter 26
Sorry babies, some parts of this chapter maybe a little hard to take, but it's going to be okay.
(What a wrecking bar looks like---------->)
Thad's POV...
Talk about starting off your day running, I barely had enough time to pull my truck into the station's parking lot, when I had to swerve around Chuck as he brought the rig around the corner. I had no time as I shot of the cab and chased the slow rolling truck before Xavier reached out and hauled me through the open door and dropped me into the seat. "Haul on your gear." He barked and pointed at my turnout suit lying in a pile next to me. I quickly scrambled into it while I tried to keep my balance as Chuck roared through the streets with all alarms blaring. Finally, I was suited up and I strapped myself into the safety harness and waited for my instructions. Xavier was busy listening to the radio transmissions and the other guys were clearly working on getting into the right head space havinf to adjust to action so early on in the morning. We were responding to another suspicious large scale fire, but this one was too close to an Elementary school, and there were already several other stations responding since the school was being evacuated, and a perimeter was being set up my the local police department to keep the children safe and the parents from panicking.
Xavier turned to us and started giving us details on the location and occupancy of the building. It was still early so the workers were not expected to be there yet. The chief was already on-site assessing what the best course of action was to take along in dealing with the situation right along with a few of the other Battalion Cheifs from other stations. We were sorta flying by the seat of our pants until we arrived on site. And it didn't take Chuck long at all to pull the behemoth of a truck up behind another one of our smaller rigs, that Tommy was driving. I watched as Xavier discreetly squeezed Robbie's hand before we all held hands and said a quick prayer asking for strentgh and safety before we hopped out of the truck. The chief immediately made his way over to us and began barking out instructions. We were to field assist the unit currently in place, the ladder trucks were going to be used for high spray, meaning that they were going to douse the building not only from ground level, but from above the roof as well. Here, were in search and rescue, meaning room by room search to clear the building of any people or pets as well as assessing the hot-spots for possible flare ups.
Lance's eyes briefly met mine for a minute before I pulled the fire proof headgear over my face protecting my nose and mouth. I strapped on my face mask and replaced my helmet on my head. Chuck handed me the Halligan bar before he jumped back up in the rig to position the ladder truck where it needed to be. Robbie, Shaun, Dave, and myself jogged towards the burning building, out of the corner of my eye, I saw several crews spraying the steamimg entrance with high powered geysers of water. The dark gaping doorway we were supposed to enter yawned before us, and I took a deep breath and trooped in line behind my crew. I was just about to enter the building when I felt a restraining arm on my shoulder and I looked up into the concerned eyes of my brother. He was part of the ground hose crew, and I nodded my head as he squeezed my shoulder in silent support. I turned and dashed into the building and I immediately felt the change in the temperature. The heat coming through my turnout gear had me sweating almost instantly.
Robbie connected our safety lines together and I could barely make out the other crews throuogh the thick smoke and darkened interrior of the burning building. The beams from the flashlights were steadily swinging from left to right as we went room by room on the first floor. I could hear Robbie doing a verbal check in with the chief and Xavier as we went along. We cleared several rooms before we came upon a set of closed doors. The other crew was already assessing the door, checking to see if there was the possibility of flames behind that portal. They gave the thumbs up and the door was promptly kicked in, there was a collective, "Oh Shit," when a backdraft spewed a wall of fire in our direction, we had no choice but to hit the ground as the fire flashed over our heads.
I tried to keep track of everyone to make sure that everyone was safely on the floor as the flames whipped backwards into the doorway from where it came from. I heard the door slam as one firefighter used his tool to swing the portal closed. I went to get on my feet when there was a sudden pain flaring through my back and I went down on my knees, tears pooled in my eyes, and the pain of the blow momentarily robbed me of my speech. AIr wheezed through my windpipe and I had to fight the diziiness threatening to take me under.
I tried to look up to get my crew's attention, only to see a blurry figure in full turn out gear shuffle quickly away from me, I tried shake my head and refocus on theperson but it was like my back was on fire, my muscles screamed as I reached out, and was barely able to pull on the safety line, Dave turned around feeling the tug and seeing me on my knees, he immedaitely rushed towards me. I could feel the spray of water as the hose crew came barreling into the room and sprayed the now closed door, but Dave and Robbie were kneeling by me trying to ask me what happened but I could barely breath in and out of my mouth much or less answer them.
I tried to get up, but I fell back to my knees and sort of slumped to the side. Damn, what was this shit? Was I hit with something? Did I fall on something? I tried to process through the pain as I heard Robbie calling for help, using the universal signal for a fireman down due to injury through the radio. I vaguely heard both the chief's voice and Xavier's voice stimultaneously as they asked for an assesment of my injury. Robbie went to roll me, but I shied away from him. He pinned me anyway and pulled up the back of my jacket and the protective layers underneath it. I heard him gasp and mention something about severe brusing and bleeding.
Dave, eased me onto my side and he waved the other concerned crew members on to continue doing what they were doing. Robbie snapped his fingers in front of my mask as he tried to get my attention. I tried my best to breathe through the searing pain and focus on him and what he was saying to me. I tried to be brave and breathe as he told me they were going to literally carry me out of the building. They didn't want to risk rescue crew coming in with the unstability of the structure. I gritted my teeth and nodded my head in understanding.
I knew if whatever the injury that was hurting like the devil now, it was going to get even worse when they got me up and moving. I tried to shore up the strength to move. I clamped my jaws shut and my world spun on it's axis when Dave and Robbie got me to my feet. It took everything that I had to place one foot in front of the other, but the door seemed to fucking far away, and I was fading fast. I could feel my crew taking more and more of my weight. Their words of encouragement were ringing in my ears as I tried to do what they said, and I tried to keep going, And when the bright light from the morning sun struck me in my face. I knew I made it outside and that was it for me.
I slumped even further leaning into them, and Dave and Robbie lowered me to the ground. I watched as the crews swirling around us parted like the Red Sea as Lance and Xavier muscled their way through. They were followed by a bevy of paramedics and a stretcher. My oxygen mask was ripped from my face, and Lance gently lifted the protective face sheild over my head and his concerned green eyes blazed into mine. He asked me what happened and I could barely get the explanation out about the backdraft of flames and hitting the floor. I told him I felt the pain when I went to get up...But my explanation stopped there when the medics got me out of my gear and probed the excruiatingly tender area of my back, and I gasped and arched away from them, blood rushed through my ears and I felt the nausea roll through my gut as they kept poking and prodding the site. I felt something warm and then something cold being pressed to area and my head swam, the next thing I knew my world went completely black and I felt nothing else.
Nate's POV...
Finally this fucking fire was out and the scene was cleared, I raced through the Emergency Room doors and up the the information desk to the tired looking clerk and impatiently waited as she looked up Thad's name. She told me second floor surgery and my heart almost fell to my feet. Some of my crew were right behind me as I rushed the bank of elevators. I didn't even question their presence, it was the code amongst forefighters. If one was hurt, we all were and this time it was my baby brother dammit.
The doors opened and the staff and visitors barely had time to scurry off the lift before we all jammed ourselves onto it. I pressed the button marked two and my eyes were glued to the little electronic panel announcing out the floors. When the doors dinged open and I only took a minute to read the signs pointing us the right direction of the Surgical area. I was abut to approach the desk when I heard my name being called, and I looked down the hall to see Robbie waving me down and I jogged over to him. He stood in front of the waiting room doors. Some of the guys from other teams were lined up and down the hall, but it was only Thad's crew that was in the acutual waiting room. And when Robbie opened the door and waved me inside, I immediately heard the cheif's growling voice.
"That injury was caused by someone purposefully taking a fucking wrecking bar to his back. I want the names of every man or woman, and all the teams involved in the search and rescue of that building this morning." Lance barked out the order at his second in command, and my stomach dropped. Everyone was lined against the wall or they were sitting on the plastic covered chairs as their Chief raged on and paced the room. Xavier was shadowing his steps and trying to calm him down. The blinds were drawn closed for our privacy and my heart rate spiked in my chest.
I stepped ino the line of the big man's path. "What do you mean hit by a wrecking bar? And where is Thad right now?" I asked the Chief as I dodged Xavier's restraining arm.
Lance stopped in his tracks and looked down at me and I could see all the pain and the worry churning in his tormented gaze. He coughed and cleared his throat. "Thad sustained a severe blow to his back from what looked like a wrecking bar, but the staff here thinks it could be from some kind of debris falling from thwe burning building, but I know what I saw and that injury wasn't cauased by burning debris. He has cracked ribs with some loose bone fragments, and they were throwing out terms like bruised kidneys and he had to go to surgery to remove the bone fragments before they could cause further damage, especially to his lungs. That is where he is now." His voice cracked on his last words, and Xavier slapped a huge hand to his back and steered him right into a chair and Robbie and Tommy shoved cups of coffee and water in his hands trying to distract him from his worry.
All I heard was cracked ribs and bone fragments requiring surgical removal. Robbie took one look at my pale features and hopped up and pushed me into the chair behind me. My fearful eyes turned towards Xavier and I could see that he was torn between comforting his friend and his supervisor, and caring for me. So, I turned my attention back to Robbie hoping to make it easier on my men. I tried to wrap my mind around what the Cheif said, who would want to hurt Thad like that? If it was an accident and the person was a true brother or sister that we were to each other, they would have stopped and helped him. So this must have been deliberate, I trust the big man to know his shit, he was a Battalion Chief for God's sakes. I knew he knew his equipment and the injuries they could cause to a human body, we were all taught that in the academy.
My knee bounced up and down with nerves as I let the information sink in, Xavier went outside to talk to the other guys and I patted my pockets of my cargo pants looking for my cell phone. I was going to have to call our Mother, she would skin me alive if she found out by some other means that Thad was hurt this badly and no one immediately called her. I looked at Robbie with dread in my eyes. "I am going to have to call Mommy." I whispered and his eyes went wide and he just shook his head as my finger hovered over the spped dial button.
I was concerned that I didn't know enough of what was going on to be able to explain to her, Like I know she was going to demand. But I couldn't not call her, and knowing her, she was going to storm this place demanding answers. I studied her picture on the screen before I cancelled the call and called Henri instead. I caught Lance's eye as I quietly told Henri what was happening. He told me to keep him informed and that I owed him for the rest of my life because he was going to wait until I called with an update before telling our mother what was going on. Lance just nodded at me after listening to my conversation with Henri and he went back to staring off into space as he worried over his man, and my baby brother.