Fire Born (Firehouse 343) Read Free Page B

answer for. He walked apartment 3C himself, along with Football and Logan, and was not ashamed to admit—at least to himself—that he’d had to stop and catch his breath when he saw the ceiling beam that had crashed down on Calvin and the little girl. Terry had been right—their captain had saved that girl’s life. Had he not shielded her, she surely would have been crushed.
    Robert Dresden, the city fire marshal, had arrived on scene shortly after the ambulance had departed with Calvin. He’d listened silently to Chris’ verbal report of the incident to that point, then said he was leaving him in charge and that he’d b e heading to the hospital to learn for himself how serious Calvin’s injuries were. By the time the fire had been put out and the building inspected, he had called with only one report:
    Due to the severity of his condition—including three fractured cervical vertebrae and swelling of his brain —Calvin was being airlifted to the Level 1 trauma center in Billings, where he could receive the best treatment for his injuries. Karalyn had gone with him and Tonja had been notified. Bob said he’d be driving her to Billings himself because she was in no condition to make the trip alone.
    As soon as the Breckon Apartments building had been sealed with police caution tape, Chris and his crew returned the engine, ladder and rescue vehicles to the station, where the men of C Platoon set about readying them for their own shift without complaint. Then each man from B showered in reco rd time and piled into Football’s Lincoln Navigator (the only car available with room for six) and headed for Billings.

Two
     
     
     
    “No, baby, we don’t know anything yet. He’s still in surgery.”
    Chris listened with half an ear as Football spoke quietly to his wife on his cell phone. Vonda had been calling every half hour since 1 a.m. for updates. It was now almost 4 a.m.
    The waiting room on the surgical floor at St. Vincent’s was not comprise d of a great deal of space, and room to maneuver had been significantly red uced by the presence of more than a dozen largely built firefighters and other personnel from Gracechurch’s first responders professions. Sam Temple, Karalyn Maynard’s EMT partner, was there with his older bro thers Simo n (one of the boys from City’s D Platoon ) and Scott (a Gracechurch police detec tive) as well as his cousin Blake (a Central Township firefighter).  All of B Platoon from Gracechurch was present as were some of A Platoon and guys from Summerford , Alton, and Newport townships. Calvin’s parents were retirees living in Florida and would arrive by plane later that morning. His sister Sharon was in Hong Kong on a business trip, but would return home as soon as she could.
    Every single firefighter, as well as Sam and Scott Temple, had offered to donate blood should Calvin need it. Even though some of those present did not know him well, they felt he was one of their own. Chris had never felt more like a part of a brotherhood—a family— with men and women he wasn’t related to by blood than he did when his fellow firefighters rallied together in support of one of the fallen.
    Calvin’s daughter was huddled next to her mother, her head on the older woman’s shoulder as silent tears fell down her face. I rene had driven over from Bozeman to sit with her even though Karalyn was far from being alone, and she sat with one arm around Kara ’s shoulders while her other hand was grasped tightly in one of Tonja’s . Against the odds, the two women—Calvin’s first wife and his soon-to-be second—had become friends. Chris had observed them numerous times over the three years that Cal and Tonja had been dating , and knew that they had bonded over mutual love and affection for Kara and respect for Calvin. He was sure Irene still loved her ex in some way—she had to if she could s it here comforting not only her child but her former husband’s new love.
    Chris himself was antsy