Page 28 of Hearts on Fire

She smelled the smoke early. Thick, acrid smoke that jolted her to attention.

She began to prepare her breathing apparatus.

This was a real fire alright.

A big fire.

Scotti gasped as they approached far West Street. The fire was worse than she imagined. It had already engulfed a major part of an industrial building and it was progressing.

That was the thing about fire. It could work fast. It could devour and destroy.

Scotti always respected fire.

Fire was the most powerful mistress of all.

“Listen up,” her boss said into the radio, “we don’t know how many people are still inside that building. The building is clearly coming down soon. Let's get those guys out.”

Scotti tightened the buckles on her breathing apparatus pack and opened the valve making the cylinder of compressed air ready for her to use while the captain gave instructions.

She jumped out of the truck with her partner, put her mask on as she moved and took a first deep breath to get the air going. She pulled her fire hood up and put on her helmet as she quickly moved to set up the hose.

She was ready for this fire.

She was assigned with her partner to the people in an upstairs room. She knew better than to take the stairs.

They immediately set up the ladder platform up to an upstairs window that seemed the best access point. The highest point of the ladder smashed straight through the window just as Scotti hoped to save her a job of breaking it when she got up there. Fire was really taking hold in the building. Flames were bursting and windows were beginning to pop out with the heat. There was a huge amount of thick black smoke.

Scotti went straight up the ladder and squeezed through the broken window with her partner Charlie. It was a lot harder to fit through windows with all your fire kit on and a cylinder on your back but Scotti and Charlie were careful and made it through. The window led to a corridor. There was a lot of smoke and things weren’t looking good. Scotti knew they needed to tread carefully as if the fire was burning hard below them, the floor they were walking on could well be compromised.

They pulled a good length of hose reel through the window and tread carefully testing the floor as they went.

“Hello! Fire Department! Call out if you can hear us!” Scotti called into the smoke. The smoke was thick, and she worried that the person or persons may no longer be conscious.

She made it to the room on the corner of the building where they were headed to. The room where the people were allegedly trapped. She had to get on her knees to get into the room because the door, now nearly separated from its hinges, bent in an odd way that blocked off half the entrance. Clearly a beam had fallen from damage from the floor above.

Scotti flashed her light in every direction but it was hard to see much through the smoke. Just under the counter, she caught a glimpse of a person, hugging their knees to their chest, with a shirt held over their nose and mouth.

“Fire Department. I’m hear to help.” She moved closer to what was now clearly a frightened young woman.

The woman was shaking. Scotti sighed. She knew what this was—shock. But she didn't have any time to deal with it now.

Right on cue, the door creaked, the weight of the building falling on it.

The place was about to collapse.

Scotti fixed her gaze on the woman.

“C'mon, give me your hand. We have a minute to get out of here. I'm sure we can do this.”

The door creaked again. This time another wooden beam snapped.

The young lady shook her head. “I'm going to die. I'm not going to make it.”

“What's your name?” Scotti asked.

“Helen,” the woman said.

“What do you like most about nature?”

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