Breaking in a Lieutenant

The dark bedroom of the small home suddenly became extremely cold. A voice broke the silence like a rock through a window. “I’ve got your back Sarg”. The man lying in the bed sat straight up screaming, Who’s there? The tiny hairs on his neck were standing up. This would be a memorable Halloween day for the firefighters at Station 23.

The light of the full moon on display in the darkness of the early morning along with the heavy frost on the ground were just signs of the season, or were they? Who knew a promotion to Lieutenant at the fire department would cost so much? 

A gambit of topics was running through my head as I drove to my new fire station. Starting out as the guy in charge with a new crew is challenging. How do I earn their respect in a way that also builds trust. I am a perfectionist and have to continually remind myself to, “not let perfection get in the way of progress”. The personalities of my new crew was somewhat of an unknown. The firehouse gossip mill which is usually a lively source of info hadn’t offered much for me. 

The lore about my new station and a former officer was also in the back of my mind this morning. I had heard too many tales about Captain Skelton haunting the fire station. Doors opening or closing and lights going on and off were some of the more docile topics. The other stories I had heard were pretty far fetched for me.

Skelton died on a call years ago on Halloween Day. A bridge collapsed while he was attempting to rescue a child drowning in the river beneath it. The station patch even included the image of a skull and crossed bones under a bridge in honor of him. I don't really like that image for the station but I will admit it does add some fun ways to scare rookie firefighters.

I walked through the watch office door of my new fire station and almost tripped over something on the floor,... a skull. I was promptly greeted by my new crew. Morning L T, one of my firefighters mumbled. It is a boooo-tiful day isn't it? asserted my Sergeant. That is weak, y'all are as lame as last year's lost easter egg, I fired back. I picked up the phony skull and noticed the S on the forehead. Nice try, I don't believe in ghosts.

The loud buzzer interrupted our laughter, Engine 23 respond to a vehicle crash at Smith Road and McDonough Street involving two vehicles. The growl of the fire truck's motor muffled a voice in the cab, “look out for your crew”. Thanks I intend to Sergeant, I responded. I didn't say anything, chirped back my Sergeant.

We arrived at the scene and as I stepped out of the fire truck there were a couple of football sized dents visible on the cars. The white powder in the air was caused by a couple of air bags deployment. The occupants were out of their cars talking to each other. It seemed like a minor crash. Then suddenly a high pitched scream from the sidewalk made my heart start to race. I rushed towards the sound of the scream to see the letters, "G....A....S......L....E.....A....K" being written in the moisture of one of the car windows. Instinctively I told everyone to run and within seconds there was a whoosh, a flash of yellow and orange flames, and a deafening boom knocking everyone to the ground.

As I got up a little dazed I barked, Everyone alright? Everybody is good one of my firefighters responded. Hose lines and foam were quickly deployed to extinguish the fire. We stabilized the cars and made sure there were no injuries. It was a close call but a good outcome considering what could have happened. After we placed the fire hose back on the truck I heard, "You almost cost lives",but clearly but no one was anywhere near me. Maybe I am starting to lose it.

How did you know that was about to happen? asked a firefighter while getting back in the fire truck. It was the scream from the sidewalk that lead me to see something. What scream? my firefighter asked. OK, now I was worried like a pilot with no landing gear. I most definitely was not going to share what I saw being written on that car window.

The ride back to the fire station took an eternity. It seemed like every traffic light caught us and my crew sat like quiet concrete statues staring. The quiet in the cab was almost deafening. My personal critique began in my mind with my inner voice quickly firing questions; Why didn't I or my crew smell the gas? Were there any puddles under or around the cars? Was all of my crew wearing the proper gear to stay safe? Did we follow standard operating procedures?

Then I began thinking about those questions that I have no answer for; Who's voice do I keep hearing? Who wrote "gas leak" on that car window? I don't know, I screamed over and over in my head.

Fear has never been a problem for me. I am an adrenaline junky and welcome challenges. But I was afraid now. I don’t know if fear is a broken mirror as they say, but I hope it is and this is not who I am. The voice of my Sergeant driving our fire truck startled me as we arrived back at the fire station, you alright L T?

Firefighters can be pretty creative when it comes to pranking one another. I should know because I have pulled too many pranks and probably deserved this. Whether it was saran wrap over the toilet, water in the bunker boots, short sheeting someone or duck tape tricks, I have done more than my share. But this was above and beyond and I couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from. The worst part was everything that happened at the car crash. We would never joke around in the midst of an emergency.

I took a moment alone walking out behind the station. "You need to take better care of your crew" the gruff audible voice spoke. My heart was racing faster than a Nascar driver on a championship run. Leave me alone, I screamed at the top of my lungs. I couldn't catch my breath and small beads of sweat formed on my brow.

My crew quickly appeared, wide eyed and quiet. After a brief stare down, finally words were spoken. Are you alright L T? my Sergeant asked timidly. "You need to do a better job keeping your crew safe, Lieutenant". Who said that? I demanded. Said what? my crew responded as I broke and began to tremble.

The minutes that followed are still a blur. The next thing I knew Battalion Chief Johnson was asking, how are you doing Lieutenant? I replayed the events of the morning over and over in my mind and could not make sense of it. Come with me Lieutenant, I think you need some help, encouraged Chief Johnson. The walk to his car was in slow motion and the words and events of the morning echoed and bounced inside my head. All I could do was stare off into the distance walking to the Chief’s car in the parking lot.

Back inside the station the temperature in the watch office suddenly got very cold. My Sergeant shivered, smiling and as he waved goodbye to yet another Lieutenant on that Halloween Day. "Maybe the next one will work out", a raspy voice quietly whispered over the shoulder of the sergeant. Who would have guessed he was the grandson of the legendary Captain Skelton.