Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 65

Davey's Point of View

We pulled up outside of the nightclub, yeah, this was no false alarm. People were gathered in the centre of the road, holding up the many taxi drivers as they tried to get through the main exit of the city centre with their passengers. Some laid on the ground, gasping for air, others sobbing, or stood motionless, eyes wide with shock. The paramedics were on scene dealing with the injured, and an engine from closer to the town was already tackling the blaze. Pulling the mask down onto my face, Ben checked my oxygen tank, as I double-checked his. The boss arrived in his smaller van and begun to liaise with the other crew.

"f**k, this is a bad one," Headache groaned.

As always, I entered the burning building with Ben and Josie, as Headache, Wayne and Twinkle begin to sort out the hoses and equipment we might need.

"People are still inside," the Boss shouts as he comes over to me.

Nodding my understanding I run through the double doors.

Visibility is difficult, the thick black smoke clouding my vision, but downstairs is not burning, however there are bodies laid on the floor. Instantly I go grab one, throwing them over my shoulder and out of the building into the arms of the awaiting paramedics, before turning around and heading straight back inside.

I pass Josie as she carries someone out, followed shortly by Ben who has his own victim over his shoulder.

Looking around, I cannot help but wonder why the hell everyone exited the front of the building. I know for a fact there are double fire exit doors at the rear of the club. I did the fire safety check myself.

I make my way onto the dance floor, finding another body laid, then pick them up, and get them outside. This is a nightmare. We are hampered by bodies laid everywhere, and yet to tackle the flames upstairs. I do not understand how so many are laid around, until I reach the back of the building fire exits and see that someone has wrapped something around the doors from the outside, making them impossible to open.

s**t, that has to have been done deliberately, there is no other reason. I know the managers of this place, and they are crash-hot on fire safety. Pushing the thoughts to the back of my mind so that I can fully concentrate on what I need to do right now, I continue to search for people who have obviously been crushed or fallen in the frenzy to get out of the burning building.

"Clear!" Josie shouts, indicating her section has no more people waiting to be rescued.

I scan around, under the tables, in the corners, thankful my area is now clear also.

"Clear!" I shout, indicating my section is okay.

Ben walks out of the female toilets, a girl over his shoulder, she is sobbing and crying, well at least she is alive. To be honest, I am unsure of how many I took out were still breathing, some of them were injured pretty badly.

After handing off his victim, Ben walks back in, and confident we cleared the downstairs, we make our way up to the upstairs bar area, where the main kitchen is.

The flames lick of the ceiling, as the other crew tackle the main blaze coming from the kitchen, Grabbing the hose, Ben jumps behind me to keep it steady, as I request water from Headache. The hose begins to fill, the weight feeling heavy in my arms as finally we begin to douse the flames. Twinkle arrives behind Josie, helping with her hose, and working as a team, we begin to conquer the flames that are sucking the oxygen from the room.

Four hours later, the flames are out. Unfortunately, we also find a couple of bodies of those who had been unable to escape the blaze, slumped in the corner of the room. I let out a sigh, shaking my head.

Josie walks around to make sure there are no burning embers that may take light again, but the fire is out, thank God.

As we exit the building, the boss is talking to the police, and the station officer from the other fire station, their faces grave. Camera crews and reporters from the local news stations all stand filming us as we leave. One woman with a microphone is busy sticking it into the face of a rubbernecker, clearly, he had not been anywhere near the fire, but was enjoying his few moments of fame. I let out a sigh, shaking my head slightly, turning my focus back to what we had just witnessed, trying to make sense of it all.

It was clear the fire started in the kitchen, but the blue flames we tackled, indicates there was an accelerant used. I glance over to Ben, who passes me a look, no words are needed, we both know, this was arson, and whoever had started the fire definitely wanted to kill people, else they would not have immobilised the fire doors at the back of the building.

The boss walks over to us, hands on his hips.

"Okay, go back to the station, you guys are officially off shift, but if you can all hang around for an hour after your showers, please," he orders.

Nodding, we climb into the engine, as Headache starts her up, we pull away.

"f**k, that was arson." Headache shakes his head.

"Looks that way. Do we know how many dead? There were some serious crush injuries," Twinkle asks.

"Definitely two, who were un-rescued from the blaze," Josie sighs out.

"I saw three pronounced dead outside," Twinkle states, his eyes wide.

I shake my head in dismay, this is not part of the job any of us like. Death is a fact of what we do. It is inevitable, but it doesn't sting any less, just because we know it will happen.

Pulling up into the station, I jump down out of the engine, making my way straight upstairs for a shower. Grabbing my phone as I take a fresh set of uniform from my locker, I quickly drop Kathline a text.

Hey, going to be late. We had a large fire to deal with, also having a debrief with the boss. Maybe make Andy some breakfast. I will see you when I get back xxx

I place the phone back into my locker then make my way to the showers.

The hot water streams down my body, turning dark from the soot of the fire, Ben is stood beside me, his hands pressed against the cold tiles, head bent low. Each of us deal with the aftermath of a fire differently, and nobody speaks, the normal camaraderie and banter replaced by silence, everyone's face a stoic mask as our brains come to terms with the horrors we have just faced.

As the soap from my shampoo runs down my face, stinging my eyes, my mind wanders to Kathline. I wonder if she saw something in the news, if she was worried or concerned. I hope she did not have it on repeat, as I really did not want Andy to see this, the little lad was struggling enough after the fire in the school.

Stepping out of the shower, I get dried and place a fresh uniform on, then head out into the common room, waiting for the others to join me.

Taking a seat in my usual spot, I see the Boss arrive, he nods in my direction before heading to his office.

"Five-minutes Davey, I will not keep you long," he shouts over his shoulder.

As I wait, the rest of the watch all gather around, all of us sitting in silence, waiting for this meeting. Hell, I know I should go home and get more things from my house to take to Kathline's but in all honesty, all I want is to get to hers and gather both her and Andy into my arms and kiss the life out of her and hug that little lad tight to me. Boss walks back into the common room, and takes a seat, looking at each of us.

"Okay, so not official yet, but none of you will be surprised to know that was arson. We are working with the police, and although a full investigation needs to be done, we cannot rule out it was the same bastard who set the school fire," the Boss begins. "He was determined to kill someone, the back fire exits were tampered with from the outside," Josie states.

"Yes, we know. They are hoping CCTV footage can shed some more light on it, but at the moment we need to let the police do their jobs," the boss states with a long sigh.

"The thing is, we are dealing with someone who is determined to commit mass murder, and his weapon of choice is Arson. The police are asking for all of us who attended both fires to keep an eye out when we go to a shout, see if we notice anyone who turns up to watch who we have seen before. Also, they are not ruling out the fact that, whoever is doing this, has something against a firefighter, so they are asking us to also have a good think about anyone who was not happy with us at some point. The police are going to send over some detectives tonight to have a chat with each of us when we are back on shift. Hey, they also want our body-cam footage. I know tonight was tough, but it is over for now. Go home, get some rest, and I will see you all tonight," the boss declares standing back up.

"Boss, do we know how many dead?" Ben asks, his eyes wide.

"Ten so far, a few are critical. Most, crush injuries in the scramble to get out. But hundreds were safe, focus on that Ben," the boss tells him.

Ten, f*****g ten already, and you do not need a medical degree that number will go up as the day goes on!

I head out of the fire station, straight to my car. Yes, I can wait to get my things, all I need right now is my little family, and some rest.

Heading into Kathline's house, she is stood waiting for me. Without a word I walk straight over to her, grabbing her by the waist pulling her to my chest, longing for her comfort, needing her presence to calm my mind. My lips find hers, my hands weaving into her long red hair deepening the kiss.

"Hi Davey.... Ewww!" Andy shouts.

I chuckle as Kathline shakes her head slightly.

"Hi squirt, did you look after your mam for me?" I ask him, keeping my voice as cheerful as possible.

"Yes, I did, especially this morning. The news about a fire was on, and she was scared. But I told her that she had to be brave, that I was going to be brave," Andy tells me, puffing his little chest out.

"That you are Andy." I smile at him, ruffling his hair.

"Guess what?" he continues.

"What?" I smile down at him.

"Mammy said I can go see Aunty Mel and my friends at her house today. We are going in one-hour." He grins up at me.

I look down at Kathline.

"Yes, he is missing the kids, and Mel offered to have him today till teatime, so that we can get some rest." She whispers a shy smile on her face.

I nod at her, suppressing the smile on my lips. Yes, I am totally wiped out, but hell if a sudden burst of energy doesn't consume my body. A full day practically child free. Now I have other things I want to do in her bed, and sleep is not top of my agenda.