Overboard

By Marty P.

Engine 51 barreled Code 3 to the scene. As Mike Stoker approached Wilmington a young child wearing a red and white striped shirt streaked out into the street to recover a ball. The engineer made a sharp right to avoid the youth and then braked to ward off a collision with a car that moved in front of him. There was a clatter behind Captain Stanley and then a flash of movement.

“Chet! Chet, are you all right?” Marco Lopez cried from the other side of the truck, helpless to intervene.

The rig screeched to a halt. “What happened?” Hank Stanley demanded as he scrambled out of the cab.

Marco caught sight of the still figure of his crewmate on the pavement. “I’m not sure, Cap.”

Two blocks ahead of them, paramedics Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto heard the communication. “I wonder what’s going on, Roy?” Both men tensed.

Roy’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as he fought the urge to make a U-turn. With their destination in sight, he angled to the curb. A man emerged from the house and approached them as they were gathering their gear. “My wife decided to take Susie to the doctor. Thanks, anyway.”

Johnny grabbed the mic and reported to headquarters. Squad 51 available and reporting to Engine 51’s scene.

Roy latched the compartment and hastened to get the vehicle moving. As Engine 51 came into view they could see three figures leaning over a fourth. “It’s Chet.” Johnny mumbled.

Roy touched Captain Stanley on the shoulder so he could examine Chet. The head of the station battled to maintain his composure. “His pulse is 120 and thready and his breathing is labored. He’s on 6 liters of oxygen.”

Marco and Mike assisted Johnny with the medical equipment. “What happened?”

Johnny handed the trauma box to Mike while Marco grabbed the defibrillator.

“We don’t know yet. He just flew off the engine onto the street.” Marco’s face was somber as he set the item next to Roy.

Mike handed the BP cuff and stethoscope to Roy while Johnny did a head-to-toe assessment. “Marco, help me get a cervical collar on him.” Once his neck was stabilized, Johnny maneuvered the helmet off his head.

Johnny’s mind slipped to a rescue they’d had on the last shift…

~*~*~*

The tones sounded. Station 51, MVA at Van Buren and North Hill.

As they approached the scene they could see a pickup truck had rear-ended a station wagon. A man was moaning as the firemen rushed to his side. “Where are you hurt, sir?” Roy asked as he stooped over him.

“It’s not me! It’s my daughter.” He made an effort to rise from the street but Roy wouldn’t let him up.

Johnny glanced around, “Where? I don’t see her.”

“Near the blue house,” the father winced when Roy touched his left arm.

The ruffle on the yellow and green polka-dotted top was askew. As Johnny neared, he guessed her age was around eight. With a heavy heart, he reached to check for a pulse, already certain of what he would find. Nothing. No beats of life. There weren’t visible signs of injury until he saw the blood pooling at the back of her head. “I need a blanket over here!”

Chet sprinted over. He and Johnny draped the body. “Riding in the back of the pickup?”

“Yeah, I figure when her father slammed on the brakes she went airborne.” With a look of despondence, he expressed his feelings. “When are people gonna learn to say no when kids or anybody else want to ride in the back of open vehicles?”

“I know, Johnny. I know.” Chet commiserated with him.

Johnny spotted a police officer. “Scotty, can you take care of this?”

“Yeah, her dad’s pretty shook up.” Scotty lifted the blanket a few inches. “Such a waste...”

“Johnny.” A voice penetrated the dark-haired paramedic’s thoughts.

“How…is…he?” The captain was doing his best to remain calm but the way he hesitated before saying each word spoke volumes.

“I’m not sure yet, Cap.” He shone his penlight into Chet’s pupils and noted they responded normally. As Johnny continued probing he felt rigidity in his abdomen, cracked ribs, and a broken left arm and right tibia.

Roy was ready with the numbers. “Pulse is 124 and thready; respirations are 28 and labored and BP is 90/52.”

After inserting the antenna into the radio, Johnny contacted the hospital. Rampart, we have a 26-year-old male, thrown from a fire truck. He gave his vitals and described his injuries.

51, start an IV with D5W, immobilize fractures and continue monitoring vitals. Transport as soon as possible.

As Roy established the IV, the ambulance attendants unloaded the stretcher. “I’ll go in with him.” Johnny commented as he snapped the biocom lid and rose from his knees.

“Cap?” Hank Stanley redirected his focus from the ambulance driving off to his engineer, who gripped a halligan tool.

“Where’d you find that?”

“A bystander brought it to me.” He pointed toward the intersection. “It was up at the corner.”

The captain’s brows furrowed as he tried to divine how the tool had come out of its niche on the truck. “Let’s head to the hospital and see what they can tell us about Chet.”

While Stoker stowed the errant halligan, Hank Stanley mulled over the event. Just that morning he had read a directive from the chief during roll call…

~*~*~*

“All right, men. Listen up. ‘In the last month, the Los Angeles County Fire Department has exceeded its equipment budget.’” He brushed down the corner of the sheet. “’This is due to negligence on the part of the members of this department. Tools, hoses, couplings, and even an Ajax were left at rescues. The taxpayers provide funds for you to serve them; spend their money wisely.’”

He tucked the clipboard under his arm. “I want an inventory of all our equipment. As of now, I’m holding everyone accountable for all tools and equipment. Station 51 is gonna exemplify responsibility in this area while I’m in charge.”

“Sure thing, Cap.” Chet replied for the entire group.

Hadn’t anyone listened to him this morning? Somehow there was a relationship between the halligan and Chet’s accident.

~*~*~*

Mike was silent on the journey to Rampart. The last time he had seen the halligan was…

Just after lunch. The squad had been called out after eating two bites. The rest of the crew was nearly done when the tour arrived. They were an hour early.

Captain Stanley sprang into action. “Stoker, why don’t you take this one? Kelly, give him a hand. Lopez, clean the kitchen.” He went to his office to complete some reports that were due at the end of the shift.

Mike Stoker scanned the crowd of second grade schoolchildren. He identified two boys as troublemakers and signaled to Chet to supervise them as well. Using the mischief makers as volunteers, he dressed them in turnout coats, helmets and the breathing apparatus. Then he removed the multipurpose tool used by the fire service. “Anybody know what this is?”

“A giant’s toothpick?” Mike saw a girl off to the side, who looked pleased with her contribution.

Mike grinned. “I’ve never heard that guess before. I’ll tell you what it’s called. A halligan. We use it to help break down locked doors. With the claw, blade and pick on it, we can use it in many ways.” He set it beside him and led the group to the hoses at the end of the engine. Jeffrey, the boy who been to his left snuck the halligan into his hand and was just ready to poke his neighbor when Chet snatched the tool out of his hand. He plunked it onto his seat, out of the youngster’s reach.

Mike Stoker moved to the dorm and Chet brought up the rear. The tour concluded and Chet started toward Big Red to deposit the halligan in its home when the phone rang.…

“Mike, slow down. You’re gonna miss the turn into Rampart’s parking lot.” Hank Stanley’s tone brought the engineer back to the present.

~*~*~*

Marco stumbled out of the engine. “He’d heard Mike describe the halligan to the students. What had happened to it? His frustration with Chet faded as he entered the double doors into Rampart’s Emergency area...

When he was assigned cleanup of the kitchen he didn’t mind until he noticed the sticky spill on the stove. Chet was the cook for the day, not him. This wasn’t a minor overflow; it was a monster, ready to digest the burners. With a heavy sigh and an aggravated glare at Chet’s back he began to work. First, he poured the leftovers into an ovenproof dish to keep warm for the starving paramedics. Then he cleared the table and washed dishes. At last he tackled the mess on the stovetop. It appeared to have grown while he’d been occupied. He filled a bowl with hot water and hunted under the sink for a cleaner, squeezing some into the water. He began scrubbing, using elbow grease more than anything else. His thoughts of Chet were far from honorable as he continued.

The ring of the telephone caused him to bump the water, spattering the dirty liquid on his uniform shirt.

“Can someone get that?” The captain shouted.

Marco cried, “I can’t!”

Kelly trotted to dayroom to answer the jangling instrument. “Hello?” His voice took on a twinkle as the conversation continued. “Of course, Veronica. I’ll be glad to tell him you had to go help your mother. Don’t worry about a thing.” He hung up and faced Marco. “She called to cancel her date with Gage. I know just the thing to cheer him up!”

~*~*~*

Roy followed the ambulance to the hospital, remembering his last encounter with Chet…

When the squad returned to quarters, he migrated toward the latrine. Sitting on the bench by his locker was Chet, zoned into the next prank he planned to spring on his ever-ready pigeon, John Gage.

“Chet, what do you have up your sleeve now?” Roy crossed his arms and leaned against the basin.

Chet snickered. “Oh, this is gonna really get him!” He revealed a rubber rattlesnake from his locker and the apparatus he used for water bombs. “I’m gonna attach this reptile and it’ll move like the real thing when Gage pops the door. I’ll hafta devise an excuse for him to open it while I’m there. Wanna help?”

“No, when Johnny gets angry I wanna be able to tell him I didn’t have anything to do with this.” Roy washed his face and hands and went to munch his meal.

~*~*~*

Johnny’s emotions fluctuated on the trip to the hospital. He kept a close eye on the injured man in front of him, getting a new set of vitals, and noted they were identical to the previous reading.

He shuddered as the image of the pickup truck fatality recurred. Chet had been unrestrained, too. But how many times had he ridden in the engine without incident? Mike was always finding it necessary to weave in traffic and come to sudden stops. Why this time? His helmet had protected him from significant head trauma, or he coulda ended up…No, he wasn’t going there. A slight moan from the gurney snared his attention.

“Chet, you’re gonna be fine,” Johnny gripped his wrist. “Just hang in there, buddy.”

“S-sorry.”

“What?” Johnny waited for the firefighter to elucidate, but he had lapsed back into unconsciousness.

~*~*~*

He should’ve seen what was coming but like the immature fish in a pond, he’d take the bait and swallowed it.

Johnny snagged the call slip from the visor. “I’ll log this as soon as I eat. I’m starved!”

“All right, I’ll be there in a minute.” Roy detoured to the locker room.

Johnny looked up from the casserole he’d retrieved from the oven. “Thanks for keeping this hot, Marco.” As he spooned out the hash Chet had thrown together for lunch, he realized Marco was cleaning up. “How’d you get stuck doing Chet’s job?”

“Cap assigned Chet to assist with a tour.” Marco wrung out the dishrag and slapped it on the edge of the sink. “Johnny, you had a phone call while you were out.”

Johnny popped a forkful of food in his mouth, “Oh, yeah? Who was it?”

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Chet took it.”

Johnny continued chewing, “I’ll track him down once I’m finished here.”

Chet sauntered into the room. “Hey, Gage. Veronica called. She had to cancel your date.”

“That’s the third time this has happened.” Johnny thumped his fist on the table.

Chet added, “Well, she said she needed to help her mother.”

“Thanks, Chet.” He gulped the remainder of his milk, “Did she say anything else?”

“Hey, Johnny? Did you notice there’s something dripping in your locker? It might be your aftershave.”

Johnny scrutinized his face, suspicious. “Well, why didn’t you check to see what it was?”

“I woulda. But you nearly strangled me the last time you found a water bomb in your locker. I learned my lesson. Keep my hands off your stuff!”

Johnny’s chair scraped across the linoleum as he went to eyeball the situation. Chet shadowed him. “I hope it hasn’t stunk up the place.” Chet positioned himself for the best view and watched Johnny unfasten his locker. His reaction to the noise and the movement of the rubber serpent sent Kelly into peals of laughter.

“I knew you’d be gullible!” The gleeful fireman was clutching his aching sides.

Johnny took a deep breath and pursed his lips. “Kelly! I almost had a heart attack! I hope you’re happy!”

~*~*~*

“C’mon, Chet. The firehouse would be a bore if you didn’t keep me on my toes all the time. You just always get me.” Johnny’s body jounced with the vehicle’s movement as he studied the motionless form in front of him.

Roy met him at the door to the treatment room. Both paramedics were ready to barge into the space when Dixie put a firm hand on Johnny, interrupting his momentum.

“This time you two need to wait out here. Sorry boys.”

They were stationed across the hall, willing the “No Admittance” sign to evaporate when the rest of Station 51’s crew got there. “How is he?” Captain Stanley hooked his radio onto his belt and lowered the volume.

Johnny reported, “His vitals were stable. He came around for a second and uttered the word ‘sorry.’ Then he was out again.”

~*~*~*

Each member of the crew interpreted Chet’s single word. Mike Stoker and the captain conjectured that Chet was apologizing for the halligan tool. Marco speculated that his buddy wanted forgiveness for leaving him with dishpan hands. Roy surmised that Chet realized he’d shown a lack of responsibility. Johnny perceived that Chet was remorseful for his most recent prank.

~*~*~*

Dixie exited from the room, with Dr. Brackett at her heels, giving orders. Dr. Brackett paused when he saw the crowd in front of him. ”Chet’s gonna be laid up for a while but he’ll recover fully. Now, he still needs x-rays and will have exploratory surgery but his vital signs are improving and there’s no sign of a head injury.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Johnny expelled the breath he’d been holding.

The physician saw his news hadn’t fully convinced them. “All right. I’ll give you all a minute with him and then get outta here!”

~*~*~*

“I went and saw Chet yesterday.” Marco watched Johnny pluck a doughnut out of the box he’d brought in. “He was sleeping.”

“Yeah,” a dollop of jelly lingered on the corner of Johnny’s mouth. “He’s still on pain meds.”

When the paramedics had a few minutes in their schedule to visit, Chet was receiving a sponge bath and the staff shooed them away. The day vanished before they found time to see him.

~*~*~*

Johnny was beaming with excitement when he came in for his next shift. “Roy, I got him!”

“Got who?” Roy spied the box wrapped in gaudy paper and a silver bow

Johnny waved the package under his nose. “I got this for Chet!”

“Do you want me to chip in?” Roy reached for wallet.

Johnny set the gift down. “Nope, I got it covered.” He strutted over to his locker and changed into his work clothes. Carrying his prize into the kitchen, he showed it off with a glow of self-satisfaction. “Thing of beauty, isn’t it?”

“What is it?” Mike chomped the last bite of his apple and pitched the core into the trash.

Johnny was becoming exasperated at the lack of enthusiasm. “It’s for Chet! I got the perfect prank to play on him in the hospital.” He picked up his present. “Never mind, I’ll tell you all about it afterwards.”

Roy did the telemetry checks with the hospital while Johnny recorded the items they needed. “Johnny, let’s go get supplies.” .

Clutching the covered trophy on his lap, Johnny urged Roy to speed to the hospital. “I can’t believe I never thought of this before!”

“I hope you won’t be disappointed.” Roy rolled up his window and notified dispatch that they were at Rampart.

Johnny was already out before Roy had unlatched his door. “Well? Are you coming or not?” Roy tagged after him.

Johnny swooped into the injured man’s room and, with a flourish, placed the item on Chet’s tray table. “We all contributed! Hope ya like it!” He stood back with eagerness, like a dog waiting expectantly for a treat.

Chet tore off the paper and chucked the lid. He gazed into an empty box. “What is it?”

“Nothing!” Johnny bubbled with pride. “Gotcha!” Before Chet could formulate a rebuttal, Johnny was out the door.

Chet gave Roy a confused and then enlightened look. “Oh, he better watch out! I’ve got time to come up with a doozy!”

Roy contemplated the situation. It seemed both men were pleased with the outcome. The badgering relationship between Johnny and Chet was intact. Johnny had no hard feelings toward Chet and expected him to reciprocate.

~*~*~*

At the station, Mike Stoker and Hank Stanley were in the captain’s office discussing the halligan. “Mike, tell me again what you remember.”

“I pulled out the tool to use it for the tour and then Chet took it when I led the kids to the dorm.”

The captain’s chair creaked as he bent it backwards. “Did he put it back?”

Mike rewound the scene in his head. “I’m not sure.”

“Could one of the children have taken it out of the compartment?”

“I don’t think so. There wasn’t time because Chet followed us in pretty quickly.” Mike said what was on his mind. “Cap, did my driving cause this?”

The captain picked up the documentation he had in front of him. “No, there’s no evidence that you are at fault.”

“Well, then what happened?” Mike tugged down his shirt as he stood up. .

“It looks like Chet’s the only one that knows what occurred.”

~*~*~*

It was later that afternoon when the Captain met with Chet. The men exchanged pleasantries and then Hank Stanley carted a chair to his bedside. “Cap, I’m sorry.”

“Chet, I need to know how you ended up on the pavement.” The captain parked his pen over the notepad on his lap.

As Firefighter Kelly adjusted his bed, he closed his eyes and winced, and then faced his superior. “I did something stupid. This whole thing is my fault.”

“Mike gave me the halligan to put away but I put it at my seat. I was gonna take care of it as soon as the tour was over…but then the phone rang and since no one was going for it I took the call.” A bead of perspiration rolled down Chet’s forehead. “It was for Johnny. His latest love interest cancelled on him. I knew the perfect thing to take his mind off it so I went and set up a practical joke and he fell for it.”

“And then the tones went off?” The captain probed.

Chet sucked an ice chip. “Yeah, when I leapt into the seat I found the halligan. It was too long to fit into the space so I held onto it. Then Mike jerked the engine and it slithered out of my hand. I woulda let it fall off the truck and told you we needed to go back for it but you’d just lectured us about being accountable for equipment.”

“Mike was forced to stop the Ward LaFrance and that’s when you got thrown off.” Captain Stanley stated.

Chet made eye contact with him. “Yeah, I stood up to grab the tool when the rig braked and I went flying off.”

The captain logged the information. “Chet, I’ll have to submit this to headquarters.”

“I know, Cap. Do you know what they’ll do?”

Hank Stanley got to his feet. “I can’t say. Right now concentrate on getting well.”

~*~*~*

Eight weeks passed. Captain Stanley parked his wife’s Edsel and headed for his office. There was a spring in his step as he anticipated Chet’s first day back.

There had been an investigation and the department had found his actions negligent regarding the halligan and imposed a disciplinary suspension. At the same time, a study was being conducted on unrestrained firefighters and the number of injuries and fatalities related to them.

The captain had sworn the crew to secrecy. This time he was the impetus behind the gift to welcome Chet back into the fold.

Hank Stanley heard Chet before he saw him. His cheerful voice echoed in the apparatus bay, “Hi Mom, I’m home!”

“Well, look who decided to come to work today,” the captain wisecracked but the returning firefighter discerned a deeper message in the tone of his voice. “Now, go get dressed. You don’t wanna be late!”

After roll call and the daily business had concluded, Marco took on the guise of Master of Ceremony. “Chet, on behalf of Station 51, we would like to present you with this gift.”

Chet’s head rotated toward Johnny. “Another empty box? Think I’m gonna fall for that again?” He heard something swish inside the carton.

“I’m not gonna tell.” Johnny swaggered around Chet. “Find out for yourself!”

He perched his fingers under the tape and jerked the paper off. He revealed a length of rope. “What’s this for?”

“Well, we can reel you in if you shirk your KP duties.” Marco suggested with raised eyebrows.

“And lasso the Phantom if he gets out of control.” Johnny emulated a cowboy, ready to capture an errant steer.

“And make a ring on your finger to help you remember things.” Mike contributed, motioning toward the rig.

“And improve your knot tying.” Roy recommended, knowing Chet always struggled in that area.

“And anchor you to your seat in the engine.” Hank Stanley proposed, with a serious look in his eye.

“And, I’m sure we can devise other uses as the need arises!” Johnny concluded with a smirk.

For more information on a halligan, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halligan_tool

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October Picture 2016            Stories by Marty P.