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As the truck pulled in beside the lumber guys’ containment unit, our boys hopped out and got to work, coordinating with their people on setting up a pump and a line to the nearest body of water.
“Duggan?” a voice from their truck came. I looked up and saw a gentleman that I hadn’t met yet but had seen pictures of at the lumber office. He had an accent I couldn’t exactly place and a worried brow that spoke of a man who had been unprepared for the current situation.
“Yes,” I said, holding out a hand for a shake. “And you are?”
“Gerry,” he said. “I’m a surveyor for Tennessee Lumber. I happened to be out this way coming home from a site this evening and noticed the fire.”
“You guys don’t have a site near here?” I asked. “I thought y’all were working this way.”
He shook his head, still staring ahead at the fire that was raging and threatening to spread quickly. “Nope. This is county land, and we can’t really touch it. But I was coming up over the pass up there connecting 204 and 12 and saw the smoke. I decided to take the access road down, and damn if there wasn’t a fire.”
“And you called your men first rather than us?” I asked, a note of accusation in my voice.
“Well,” he said, shrugging and looking at me, “you guys don’t exactly have the best track record. Our guys were only ten miles out, and I knew they were activated and ready. I called you as soon as our guys were dispatched.”
“Oh, so how long have your guys been here?”
“Just a few minutes. We honestly didn’t expect you to arrive for another half hour.”
I wanted to defend our unit, to say something back to combat his accusation, but the fact was he was right. Our guys didn’t have the best reputation in town. In fact, they had a terrible reputation. That was the whole reason I was here. I bit down on the words that wanted to fly out and nodded instead.
“We’re here now and appreciate your assistance,” I said diplomatically.
“Look, I didn’t mean to insult you,” Gerry said, but I held up a hand to cut him off.
“I’m aware of how people think about my department. I am working on fixing that.”
“Well, good,” Gerry said.
Stepping away, I pulled open my phone and scrolled through some of the numbers. There was one that I had in my back pocket, a number that I hadn’t used yet but knew I could. A friend of mine who had gone on to work for the state named Jimmy Williams. I pressed the contact for his name and put the phone to my ear. After two rings, he picked up.
“Kieran?” he asked. “What’s happening, man? It’s almost midnight.”
“Jimmy, I have a situation,” I said. “I’m on a call out here in Ashford on North Mountain where 204 and 12 meet up, and we have what looks like a forest fire starting. Ashford is not equipped to handle the size of this thing if it gets going. I need backup from the state.”
“On it,” he said. “Keep this line open. I’ll call you right back.”
It was five in the morning, and sweat was pouring down my body both from physical labor and from the intense heat. I had been coordinating the team along with the state folks who were coming in and looking for direction from the ground. It was a lot of responsibility, more than I had ever shouldered before, but I effectively led the entire operation through the containment of the fire.
Choppers came in from surrounding counties, along with extra trucks from as far out as the counties outside of Knoxville. Even a Virginia truck came in through the mountains, giving us coverage around the entirety of the fire, and by the time daybreak was threatening to turn the sky from a dull, dark grey into a lighter, smoke-filled beige, we had it under control.
Still, there was major damage to the area, and I kept pushing my body to the absolute physical limit. I didn’t stop until I felt myself crumbling and the fire was well under control, with half the trucks that came in already leaving.
“Chief,” I said as I noticed the old man arriving for the second time. He had come in early once but went back home when the fire looked contained to finish getting some sleep. Now, two hours later, he was back, coffee in hand.
“Duggan,” he said, nodding. “You look like hell.”
“Sorry, Chief. I think I’m going to go lay down in our truck. Everything should be under control, and we’ll be down to smoke in about twenty minutes or so.”
“Very well,” he said. “Here, go over to the EMS truck over there. There’s a gurney in the back. Take a nap. I’ll make sure they don’t bring you into the emergency room.”
