The Chief

By Terribv

My shift began as any other shift but it ended like no other. I wonder if it will end at all. There will be much work to do in the days ahead. A fellow firefighter has been killed in the line of duty and three other injured. I have known them all for years and they are good men. Very good men.

I have been performing my job for many years. I am a Battalion Chief with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. I love my job; have always loved my job in whatever capacity I've held. From my first days as a probie firefighter to my time as an Engineer and then Captain and finally now Battalion Chief, I have loved my job.

Much of my job now is of a non-emergency nature. I have daily staffing schedules to contend with, routine departmental paperwork to complete and I supervise all of the companies in my battalion. I am a conduit through which information flows up and down the chain of command. This is a very important task because the interpretation and explanation of most of this information could mean life or death to my men. I am now a manager. Being one of the guys is out of the question. I miss that more than I thought I would but being there for my guys is more important.

Today I made my rounds of stations under my command. I lingered at Station 51 a little longer than I should but I have personal reasons for that. The captain of 51's, Hank Stanley, used to be my Engineer. He's a great guy but we had a little episode during our  time together where he actually burned my hat. I could have had his head for that but I let it slide. The man was one of the best Engineers I had ever worked with and now he is one of the best Captains around. I'm glad now that I chose to overlook his little indiscretion.

The crew at 51's is one of the best operating, well functioning that we have in LA County. It's one of the reasons that they have been together as long as they have. But that may well have changed tonight. To say I hate the night is an understatement. Night is when fire is at it's worst. Night is when fire is allowed to go undetected and get out of control.

I heard the call come in over the radio and knew it would be big. Just how big was another matter. I immediately drove to the scene. An old vacant building with fire coming out of three or four windows was waiting for me when I arrived. I quickly grabbed my turnout gear from the trunk, put it on and headed up the street. I was smart enough and had seen enough fires to know that you don't park your car next to them.

The fire was spreading with terrible speed. In the couple of minutes since I had arrived, the fire had jumped several floors. Engine companies had laid hose from several hydrants and were positioning themselves to direct their streams of water on the fast growing blaze.

I immediately saw Captain Stanley. His company was the first in and he had assumed control. Now that I was on the scene, he would relinquish that control to me.

"Hank," I said, "what've we got?"

"It's bad, Chief, real bad. The fire's going both ways and is spreading too quickly. It's going all the way to the top. I've already got a third alarm in and we're probably gonna need more," he told me.

Based on the information that I had been given and what I could see, I called for more alarms. The flames were feeding off of the wooden floors and in just a few minutes, the entire structure was ablaze. We positioned more firefighters to get additional hose streams to protect the outlying buildings that were now being threatened. We needed more ladders to reach the upper areas of the burning building. Debris was falling and the windows were blowing out. You didn't dare look up. Despite our best efforts, the beast was getting away from us. The streams of water that we were throwing on it were doing nothing to contain the fire. We all knew that unless we got it under control soon, the entire structure would be comprised.

The Fire Chief as well as additional alarms was brought in. This was quickly turning into one of the worst fires in LA County. It had only been approximately 60 minutes into fighting the blaze when we realized the worst was going to happen.

"This wall's gonna come down," the Chief announced. "I want everyone out now."

We sounded the alarms to pull out. This was something that went against our very nature. We were the ones who went in to do battle. I knew it wasn't going to be a very popular decision with the men as I went about instructing my crews.

The collapse was horrific. As soon as the wall was down, we began a renewed effort to squelch the flames. Word quickly spread that we had men trapped. In a last ditch effort to try to save their engines; some firefighters had been trapped as the building collapsed onto the street below. Mike Stoker, 51's Engineer was one of them as was Roy Desoto, 51's senior paramedic. Also injured but not seriously was John Bowen, the Engineer from 110’s. Pete Wilson, from 127's, was killed when his engine was crushed by the falling structure. Our guys wasted no time in trying to reach their injured comrades and word quickly spread about Pete's death.

I couldn't help but feel that I didn't do enough. Two of the men were under my command and it was tearing me up inside. And I had known Pete for years. He was only a few short months from retirement. As I survey the scene, I realize that it will take days and heavy cranes to remove the debris and completely extinguish the fire. My fellow Battalion Chief, Ron Johnson, would have the much more terrible task of notifying Pete's wife and arranging the funeral details.

Funerals in the fire department are no small matter. First and foremost is the family. What do they need, what would they like us to do or not to do. Then there's the official notification to all stations, sending out notices to the right agencies, coordinating with the church and the funeral home and cemetery. Organizing color and honor guards. Who says what and when. Arrangements need to be made for pallbearers. The police will need to block the streets to allow the procession through and we have to map out that procession so that it will take Pete back past his station.

So many things to consider and we still have injured men that need to be tended to. Mike Stoker is the most critically injured at this time and he has been rushed to Rampart Hospital. Roy Desoto was also taken to Rampart and though his injuries are not life threatening, they could be career ending. It will fall to me to notify their families and I realize that this needs to be as soon as possible.

The hospital scene amazes me even though it shouldn't. There are news crews crawling all over the place. I am besieged as I usher the wives of my two men down the corridor.

"No comment," I say over and over as we push our way through the throngs of people. A nurse immediately ushers us into the hospital lounge. I am extremely grateful to her. Captain Stanley and the other men from 51's are already there. They look beaten and I fear the worst about Stoker. I look questioningly at Hank.

"No word yet, Chief," he informs me.

"Dr. Brackett will be in as soon as possible," the nurse advises us.

"Thanks, Dix," the junior paramedic, John Gage, responds. He has his arms around Desoto's wife and is comforting her. I wish that I could do more for all of them.

"The chaplain will be here soon," I announce wishing that this will somehow make it all better but at the least, perhaps it will be of comfort to some.

We wait. All of us. Hardly a word is spoken but we are together and that makes it easier. We take comfort from each other. Stoker's wife is terribly upset and I remember that it wasn't long ago that he and Beth married. She's never been through anything like this before. I sit on one side of her and Hank on the other trying to offer her as much support as possible. Gage hasn't left Joanne's side since we arrived. I don't know which one of them is more upset but they seem to be drawing comfort from each other. Lopez has been praying silently and Kelly continues to pace the room.

A doctor arrives but it is not Dr. Brackett. I have met Brackett several times and know him very well. He looks around the group and focuses on Joanne and Gage.

"Roy's a very lucky man," he states and we all let out a big collective sigh of relief. "The damage to his leg is not as severe as we originally thought," he adds.

He walks over to Desoto's wife. "Joanne, we were worried that we may have to amputate Roy's leg but thankfully, we won't have to. He'll have a long recovery period ahead of him but he will recover and we are extremely optimistic that he will have full use of his leg."

She has yet to shed a tear but with this news, she finally lets go of the thin thread that had held her together.

"Oh thank God," she says and she turns back to Gage. "Thank God." This is said very quietly as she realizes that there is another woman in the room who is still unaware of her husband's condition.

Our Chaplain arrives and I know that it is a comfort to me. I can only hope that it is to everyone else as well. It is more than two hours later before Dr. Brackett along with his associate, Dr. Early put in an appearance. Both men are haggard but they are smiling and the gesture is not lost on any of us.

"Mike gave us quite a scare," Dr. Early admits.

"But he should pull through," Dr. Brackett adds. "He's holding his own and the surgery to repair his internal injuries went well. I have every reason to believe that along with Roy, Mike will make a full recovery.

It is a great moment for all us. I excuse myself so that I can notify the Fire Chief. Reporters again besiege me and Dr. Brackett advises me that I can use his office if necessary. When I am alone, I am overcome with emotion. It has been a very bad day. I gather my control and make the necessary calls. I still have to be strong. I still have to be a Battalion Chief and we still have a brother that we have to bury.

The days ahead will be long but we will move forward. We will continue to do our jobs and do them well. That's what we do.

 Author's note:

I must credit Michael Kernan's First Due: Baltimore for the information that I used in this story. This book inspired me to want to write something from McConnikee's viewpoint. It is a very good book. The fire scene was taken from this book (but I changed it slightly) because I have no intimate knowledge of what goes on at a
fire. During the real fire, no firefighters were killed.

If you get the chance, it is a good book to read with a lot of good, funny, sad stories that he experienced during his career.

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