Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 122

Ben's Point of View

As I lead the team back into the blaze, I attempt to shake all of my concerns off me, but I cannot deny this is the stupidest decision shallow fallow has ever made in his lifetime of many stupid decisions. The guy is a joke, only now, it is our lives he is playing God with. f*****g i***t.

I glance over at Davey, and it does not take a genius to work out, he is cursing 'Shallow Fallow' to the ends of the earth right now. I bet Josie even has a few choice words for the i***t. Still, ours is not to reason why, just to get on with the job in hand, and pray we all make it out of here with all our limbs and life still intact.

"Davey, we should split up, cover more ground. Do you know where the last crew searched?" I shouted at my friend over the roar of the flames.

"They got as far as the main factory where the batteries are," Davey shrugged.

I let out a groan. If every nook and cranny had been searched, other than the assembly line, and the stores where the Lithium-ion cells were kept, then we had no choice but to come out empty-handed, and quickly. We cannot take the risk of opening those extra- strength fire doors. If they are in that area, yes, there is more chance of them being alive, but if we open those doors, and the fire spreads, there is an increased chance that we heat up the batteries, or the flames take hold, and then we are all blown to smithereens. "Boss, we have an issue," I say over the radio.

"Go ahead Ben." The Boss shouts, his normal calm voice sounds anxious and angry.

"The other crew have searched everywhere but where the batteries and the cells are kept, we run the risk of blowing this place up if we open the doors to that area." I tell him.

"Stand by." The boss tells me.

"Ben, can we not go in, two of us, close the doors behind us, to keep the fire out and search?" Wayne innocently asks me. The lad has only been on the job just over a year, and he still has a lot to learn.

"No, the risk is too high, Wayne." I patently, tell him.

"f**k this s**t," Davey shouts, as another piece of the ceiling falls, narrowly missing him.

Josie jumps backwards, to avoid the falling debris as well, as she shakes her head in dismay. We are all thinking the same thing. Why the f**k did they not call this fire? Davey's Point of View

f*****g shallow f*****g Fallow. He could not organise a piss-up in a brewery. We all know it, and there is not one of my mates here that also knows the chances of us getting out of this hell hole without at least one of us having a serious injury are getting shorter by the f*****g second.

If we make it up to the top part of the main factory, then open the reinforced steel doors to where those f*****g batteries are stored, it will not take long for the place to go f*****g boom.

As we all wait for the Boss to replace out what 'Shallow Fallow' has to say, we move slowly up the burning building, double checking each area. We have already triple checked the f*****g area. This is pointless. If those f*****g bozo's who are missing, have f*****g gone off and not reported to the company fire marshal, and just f****d off for the rest of the day. I will kill the f**kers myself.

f*****g hell, Boss is taking his damned sweet time to get us an answer, which means, he doesn't like the order from 'Shallow Fallow' and is arguing his point, in an attempt to get us out of this f*****g hell hole now.

All we can do is cross our f*****g fingers and hope the Boss wins this f*****g argument, or someone with half a brain cell comes down from the head office, and calls the f*****g fire. The added bonus would be if they ordered Fallow the fucker in here to replace the missing victims on his jack jones. Let him put his life on the line. He has always only been a f*****g pen pusher, nothing more and nothing less. Arse Licking Wanker. f**k, come on Whip-me, let us know what the f**k we are doing next, for the Love of f*****g God. I push open another door, taking a step inside, but it is clear this room has been searched multiple times, but I stick to the f*****g protocol.

"Fire Brigade, is there anyone in here?" I shout.

Let me be perfectly honest, even if there is anyone in this room, they have not a cat in hell's chance of them shouting out to me now anyway. But it is part and parcel of what we do, so at least I can fill out my paperwork correctly.

Bending down, I double check all the areas, that I know have been checked before.

"Ben, Davey. Do one quick last sweep of that area, do not hang about, then get out of there, do NOT, I repeat. do NOT open the fire door's to the batteries."

"f*****g get in"! I shout into my oxygen mask as Josie's eyes brightened behind her mask.

The sense of relief we all feel is damn well palpable, as we move out, and double check the area that has been double checked twice before. Josie's Point of View.

"Just a customary glance as we make our way out of here." Ben orders us all, not wanting to waste our time any more.

Twinkle looks like he is struggling now. If I am honest, I feel like my arse is hanging out as well. Three rescue stints is a lot for anyone. Still, all we have to do is a quick sweep of the area and we are out of here. More crews will arrive, taking the glory of putting the flames out completely, but to be quite honest, I really do not care. I want to get home, get a shower, and snuggle up in bed with my favourite pillow, Anders' chest, and sleep for a week.

"Watch out!" I shout over to Headache, as a door that one of the search crews had left ajar, blows open, and nearly wipes him out.

Headache manages to avoid it, by the skin of his teeth. I let out a sigh of relief that it did not hit him. I glance around at my teammates, my colleagues, my brothers. They all have their different quirks, but I love every single one of them. Sometimes it is at times like these that you realise just how blessed you are, with the guys who surround you day to day.

I step over some fallen debris that is still glowing. The fire around us is looking like it is beginning to subside. I let out a sigh of relief. If it has started to burn itself out, and now is submitting to the water from the engines and crews outside, then we really have had a miracle. I know each of us has prayed for, in our own way.

I cannot relax, none of us can, but it is good news. I can feel the sense of relief washing over the team. One quick sweep, and we can get out of the danger zone. The metal fire doors, and the constant cooling of the area around those battery cells have paid off. As we reach the top of the corridor towards the factory assembly lines, another girder falls, blocking our path out of the building.

"For f**k sake." I hear Davey growl.

"Come on, we have to move it." Ben shouts, his voice loud, but with a calmness to it, that gives you a small amount of hope.

I rush over to help Ben, Davey Wayne and Headache to lift the beam. Twinkle is attempting to do, god knows what at this point, he is clearly exhausted, standing rooted to the spot. "f**k!" Twinkle shouts.

I look up to where he has frozen and is staring.

"BEN," I scream into my mask, as both Ben and Davey halt what they are doing and look around.

The wall to the batteries has caught light, the fire gaining in power, as the walls begin to melt under its intense heat.

"f**k, Dump this, we have to use the f*****g fire door, we need to get out of here, right f*****g now." Ben shouts, as we all ran towards the fire door.

"Ben, it will vent the fire, giving it oxygen." Wayne protests.

I know what he means, it will cause a back draft, which will make the place go up like a tinder box, and cause the explosion we all have been dreading. But the situation is simply this, we have minutes to get out of here before the fire explodes one of those cells, it will cause a chain reaction. We are simply damned if we do, and damned if we don't, at this point. Our only possible chance of survival is that door.

"Wayne, we have to get out of here, this is the only real chance of surviving this. Look at the fire has burnt a f*****g whole in that wall, and those batteries are heating up. We have no time." I tell him as he nods his head.

Headache places his hand on Wayne's' back, as we all run towards the rear fire door.

"Here goes nothing," Ben shouts.

Kelvin's Point of view.

"You cannot ask them to go into that factory, it is secure now, if they open the doors, they have moments before we have a mushroom cloud. I am NOT accepting that order, and you can damned well fire my a*s if you want, but my team are NOT going to be put in any more danger because of your incompetence. "I bellow at Shallow Fallow.

f*****g hell, my chest is constricting. Bloody Wayne's cooking is killing me. I should have known better than to attempt eating it. I wish I could just pull out one of Joanne's man burps when she drinks any time of pop then I would be all good.

I round my shoulder and rubbed my chest again, trying to move the wind bubble that was stuck in my chest.

"Look Webber, Like it or not, I am the man in charge here." Shallow Fallow begins, when a clearing of a throat behind him gains his attention and he halts what he is saying, his jaw hanging slack.

"No, I think you will replace that I am the man in charge now." The chief fire officer for the whole northeast said.

"Station officer Webber, give the order for your team to come out, they can do a quick sweep, but I do not want them in that place a moment longer than is necessary."

"Thank you sir." I say, then speak to Ben and Davey, telling them to do one last quick sweep, but they were clear to come out.

Thank God we have someone with a brain from head office on site now.

"Mr Fallow, you and I will be having a conversation as to why you allowed another rescue squad to enter that building later." The Chief Fire officer glares at Shallow Fallow. "We agreed." Fallow tells me, then goes to open his mouth to say something else.

"We did NOT agree. But you did what you wanted to do irrespective of the danger." I shout, unable to hold my tongue.

"Boss, the factory floor is up in flames, we have seconds before this place blows. We are going out the fire escape. Look after Mam. Lucy and my baby." Ben's voice echoes in my ear.

The pain in my chest intensifies, as I collapse to the ground under the intensity of it, when the earth shakes, and the defining boom echoes, as a small mushroom cloud reaches into the skies above. A vale of darkness fell over my eyes, as the pain took over my body, and then there was nothing.