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“Lieutenant?” Ricardo, the driver engineer, calls out to me. I almost hear him, but I can’t move. I’m frozen in fear. “Dios mio.” Ricardo grabs the microphone from my hand and responds to the dispatcher. “Engine 11, Rescue 11 en route.” He pulls the microphone as far as it’ll reach and hands it to Chance in the backseat.
“Lieutenant!” I ignore my crew. “Taylor!” Someone pushes my shoulder and I turn around.
“Whose address is that?” Kane asks me, knowing that something is very wrong. I never freeze. Ever.
I look at him with a blank stare. “Kate.”
“FUCK!” both Chance and Kane say in unison.
Kane grabs the microphone from Chance. “Engine 11 to Battalion 11.” He’s calling the Battalion Chief for our shift. If he’s not at the scene, he will be before we get there.
At the same time, Chance yells at Ricardo. “Step on it, Ricardo. Make this beast fly.”
“Battalion 11.” We hear over the radio.
“Engine 11 to Battalion 11, go to Tact 2.” Kane tells our chief to switch to the non-emergency channel of the radio.
“Battalion 11 on Tact 2. What’s up? I’m on my way to that structure fire.”
“Chief. It’s Kate’s address.” Kane relays.
“Fuck!” We can hear the sirens from his Suburban in the background. “I’ll be there in five.”
“10-4. Engine 11 switching back to emergency channel,” Kane responds.
It feels like time has slowed to a crawl. Ricardo is steering the fire truck through the late Sunday afternoon traffic like a madman, but it’s taking forever to get to Kate. Every possible scenario is playing through my head of what she’s going through. Another fire for Kate to deal with. How far back is this going to set her mental state? Especially for how close it is after her parents’ anniversary. What if she’s still in that house? What if she hasn’t gotten out? What if they can’t find her?
What if she’s dead?
“Can’t you get this thing to go any faster?!” I yell at Ricardo.
“Almost there, boss.” He swerves the engine around a corner when the radio comes alive again.
“Battalion 11 to Engine 11. Tact 2.”
I grab the microphone from Kane’s hands and change the radio channel. “Engine 11 on Tact 2.”
“She’s not here. There’s no one inside and her car’s not here. She’s not here, Taylor.” He repeats the first part and air fills my lungs again. I’m breathing.
“10-4. Engine 11 switching back to emergency channel. Thank you.” I answer our chief.
Although I believe him when he says that Kate’s not there, I have to see it for myself and as Ricardo winds the engine around the street to Kate’s house; I search and don’t find her SUV.
She’s not here. Kate’s not here.
The scene is a mess as there are people everywhere watching her tiny house burn to the ground. There’s nothing left. Nothing to salvage. It’s all gone. Including her precious photo album that her grandmother had of her parents. It’s all gone and Kate’s going to be devastated.
But she’s not here. If she’s not here, then where is she?
We all climb out of the fire truck wearing our bunker gear. I throw on my helmet and look for the Battalion Chief since he will be the one in charge of the scene.
“Chief. Where do you want us?” I ask him with my crew standing behind me.
“Have your men keep the heat off of that mobile home over there,” he points to the house on the right side of Kate’s. “Engine 31 is keeping that one watered down. I don’t want this thing to spread. These mobile homes go up so fast. Don’t need a mass casualty incident on my hands.”
He’s right. Although these types of homes are inexpensive, they’re like a box of matches. One light and it goes up in flames quickly.
“On it.” I turn to my crew but stop when I hear my chief call my name. “I’ll catch up to you guys.”
