The Golden Hour by Betty & Kajakat Roll call in five minutes." Captain Stanley announced at the beginning of Station 51's A-shift. "Come on Gage, you'll be late again," said Chet Kelly. Kelly was ready to aggravate his favorite victim John Gage, who was sitting on the bench buttoning his shirt when the Captain made his announcement. "Chet, I'll be on time. Don't ya worry about that, buddy." John said to his tormentor, while pointing at him. He got up and tucked his shirt into his pants. All he had left to do was put on his shoes. Kelly sat on the next bench and watched Johnny tie his laces. Roy DeSoto, John Gage's paramedic partner, watched the unfolding comedy/drama from across the room aware that his partner had no idea what was about to happen. The left shoe was tied and Johnny was tying the right shoe when the lace broke. "CHET! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SHOES?" shouted Johnny. "Me? Why do you think I had anything to do with this?" Chet asked innocently, imagining a halo above his head. "Because this lace broke yesterday and I replaced it then." "Well don't blame me if you buy cheap shoe laces. What did they teach us at the Academy about proper equipment maintenance, Gage? You need to take that course again." Chet said that and walked to the bay area, whistling, with the biggest grin on his face. Roy, always rescuing his partner from different disasters, real or constrained, walked to his locker and gave him a pair of shoelaces. "I think you may need these." Roy said. He handed the laces to Johnny and smiled, his blue eyes gleaming. With a million-dollar grin on his face, Johnny replied, "thanks pardna." Johnny, experienced shoelace changer due to the Phantom's daily attack, was able to thread his shoe in record time and not be late to role call. He ran to the bay area just in time. "Cutting it close again, Gage?" Captain Stanley asked with mild annoyance. "Sorry, Cap. Won't happen again." Johnny said with remorse. "You said that last shift and the shift before that." He would have continued, but knew the Phantom was picking on Johnny's shoes this week. Sometimes the Captain thought he managed a group of schoolboys. But he knew these professional firefighters were the best in the County. So he put up with their pranks, as long as they didn't get out of hand. After assigning the daily chores, Captain Stanley asked Roy and John to join him in his office. Once inside the Cap's office, both Johnny and Roy took a seat. "What did you want to see us about Cap?" Roy inquired. "Headquarters is looking for a couple of paramedics to go on a survival weekend with a group of gifted teenagers. These particular young people are involved with a wilderness program that Compton Community College offers. These kids, if they pass this course, will use their credit toward their studies in some field involving Forestry. During this wilderness weekend, the kids will be shown first aid techniques - hence this is where the paramedics come in. So, would either or both of you be interested in doing this? I want to add that if you do this, you'll be paid for it and you'll get compensating time off." Stanley glanced first at Roy and then at Johnny hoping that both of his men would agree. Of course Johnny didn't have to think twice about it. After all, it was the outdoors and he loved roughing it, and to top it off he would get paid for it. "I'm in Cap." Johnny answered excitedly. "Just tell me when and where!" Roy on the other hand had to think about it. After all he was married. He had to speak to his wife before he could just jump into something like this. He liked the idea though. He loved camping and he enjoyed teaching his skills to people. "I'll have to speak to JoAnne first, but I don't foresee a problem with me doing it too, Cap." "Great." Hank replied as he gave his desk a little thump with his fist. "The survival weekend is schedule for two weeks from now. Roy, you give your wife a call. Then I can let headquarters know that I have at least one volunteer, possible two." With that, Johnny left the office to go help Mike out with hanging hose. He was grateful that Stanley had assigned him with duty as far away from Chet as possible. The last several shifts were incredibly difficult. The Phantom had done his best to do anything and everything he could think of to Johnny's shoes. Three shifts ago, Johnny discovered a raw egg in the toe of each boot when he quickly donned his boots before roll call. Not only was it slimy, it soaked through Johnny's socks and squished between his toes. But the worst part was his boots remained wet for the duration of the shift after he had washed them out. The following shift, not only did Johnny break a bootlace as he tried to tie his boots, he discovered the Phantom had placed a gob of shoe polish on the bottom of both boots. When Johnny walked away from his locker shaking his fist at Chet, he left a trail of boot tracks on the floor. Of course the others chuckled. Then today, once again, Johnny's bootlace broke. He was at his wits end with the Phantom and Johnny just wanted to get through the shift without another prank directed toward him. Roy made his phone call to JoAnne. After explaining what the department wanted, JoAnne told Roy to go ahead and volunteer. Roy knew the added bonus of getting paid for the weekend was the most appealing point of the whole trip for his wife. After all, she was a real penny pincher when it came to money. There were times Roy thought he probably would end up retiring rich the way she saved money, which in itself wasn't such a bad thing. Once he gave his Captain the word that he could go with Johnny on the outing, he went to the dorm to begin his assigned task for the day. Knowing that everyone was where he assigned them; Stanley took a moment to call headquarters to let them know he did indeed have the needed paramedics for the survival weekend. When he finished the call, he would dive into the mounds of paperwork that appeared out of nowhere. If there was one thing he hated about being a Captain, it had to be the paperwork. But considering he had a great bunch of guy's to work with, the paperwork was insignificant. Marco was busy in the kitchen checking the contents of the refrigerator and cupboard against his recipe he was going to try out on the guy's - Enchilada Casserole. Marco loved this dish and thought it would make a nice change to the routine meals the crew had been having as of late. Not that his taco's, Mike's spaghetti or fried chicken, Cap's clam chowder, Chet's Irish stew, Roy's beef bourgeon, or the hotdogs and hamburgers Johnny made, wasn't okay. Marco felt it was time for a change. A change that he was certain the guy's would enjoy. Chet, of course, was stuck with latrine duty. Captain Stanley gave the firefighter this duty for the last five out of six shifts. He knew it was for getting on Gage's case, but for once Chet didn't mind. He loved putting one over on his favorite pigeon and having latrine duty gave Chet more time alone to think of what he could do next to Gage. Inside the toilet stall, Chet was on his knees scrubbing the floor around the base of the toilet and the wall in behind and off to the sides. As he scrubbed he thought about a toilet joke that he could pull on Gage. He wondered if maybe, somehow, he could rig something up so that when Johnny took a leak, the water in the toilet bowl would turn blue giving the paramedic a start thinking he had something wrong with him. Chet also chuckled to himself, when he thought about using an epoxy on the toilet seat so when Gage sat down, he would end up stuck. Chet knew if he did something like that, he'd have to use something that was water or saline soluble or Stanley would be on his case in a big way. The more Chet thought about things that he could do, the more he laughed. Roy grabbed an armload of sheets and pillowcases on his way into the dorm. He stacked them on the desk while he stripped the used sheets and cases off of the previous shift's bunks. As he removed the used linens, he tossed them into a pile near the entrance to the locker room/latrine. Once this part of his job was complete, Roy began to make up the beds, starting with the two bunks he and Johnny used. Mike and Johnny were busy scrubbing and hanging the 800 feet of hose that the previous shift used on a structure fire. Both men were on the ground next to the hose tower with a scrub brush in hand and a bucket of sudsy water sitting between them. Together they scrubbed and held a conversation. Mostly, they talked about the latest movie that was released at the theater, Saturday Night Fever. Both men saw it separately of course, with dates. They also talked about music, mostly ABBA and the release of Waterloo, which was quickly becoming a hit around the world. ~*~*~*~ While Station 51's A-shift was in the midst of their assignments, a National Airways 747 took off from Los Angeles International Airport. This lumbering four-engine jet was bound for Chicago's O'Hare airport with a total of 57 passengers and crew. As the jet climbed to 10,000 feet, it shuddered and lost altitude. The pilot and co-pilot tried to determine what happened to their jet. Their instrument panel indicated that their number four-engine stopped functioning. Although the pilots knew a 747 could function on only one engine, they knew better than to risk anyone's safety. They called in a mayday declaring an emergency and returned to LAX while they still had control of their jet. What the pilots didn't know was their number four engine wasn't functioning because it was no longer attached to the jet. It plummeted to the ground reaching its maximum velocity. Its mark was Station 51. Anyone on the ground near to where the jet engine contacted the earth swore it was the loudest noise they ever heard. The station was demolished by the impact. People would tell stories about this day for years to come and how miraculously, no one on the ground was killed. Johnny and Mike were outside hanging hose. Johnny heard a strange sound and looked to the sky and saw an object falling toward them. He immediately recognized that this object was going to hit nearby. Johnny called Mike's name and pointed to the sky and ran into the station to alert his coworkers. It would have been better for Johnny if he stayed outside. Mike saw Johnny run inside but didn't understand why. When the engine hit, the blast knocked him back, throwing him against the cement fence. He was knocked unconscious with debris from the station, covering him. Marco was in the kitchen when Johnny ran inside. He was concentrating on his meal and didn't hear what Johnny was yelling. The concussion from the explosion knocked Marco down, covering him with pots, pans, dishes and other the remnants of Station 51's kitchen. Roy was thinking about the survival weekend, letting his mind wander. He liked cleaning the dorm as it gave him time to think. He thought he heard Johnny shout something, but didn't have time to react. When the engine hit the Station, Roy was thrown across the dorm. He landed on the floor with debris, wood, mattresses, sheets and bricks piled on him. Captain Stanley knew that paperwork was part of the job. There were days he didn't mind doing it. And there were days he did. Today was one of those days. The phone in his office was ringing when he heard a strange noise. He couldn't determine what the noise was but was startled when he heard Johnny shout something. He had no time to react. The concussion of the engine hitting the station knocked the Captain out, spilling the wreckage all over him. Chet was in the latrine, oblivious to what was going on outside. He was thinking about new ways to torment Gage. His thoughts didn't get far as the walls of the latrine collapsed, trapping Chet underneath. Fortunately for Chet, the latrine was the best place to survive the impact. Johnny didn't know what he saw falling to the earth. His instincts were to warn the crew and alert them to get ready for a rescue. What Johnny didn't know was the object, the engine, was hurtling toward the station and would impact in the bay area. Johnny was heading in that direction, toward the Cap's office when the engine collided with Station 51. The impact upended the Squad, pushing it into the Ward La France. The fire engine was pushed aside and impacted the wall spilling bricks all over the dorm. The jet engine made a crater that was 10 feet deep in the bay area. Debris from the Squad, Engine and Station was thrown about, covering John Gage. ~*~*~*~ Roy DeSoto woke to the sensation of pain radiating along the entire length of his left leg. With a moan, he reached a hand down and felt the rough structure of wood. Blinking open his eyes, he was able to lift his head and focus enough to discern, within the darkness that seemed to encompass him, that a support beam was laying across his hips and left thigh -- pinning him down. Blinking a few times, Roy tried to focus his eyes. A thick cloud of dust hovered over him; so thick in fact it was dark where he lay. With his hand, Roy touched his face. It was wet from blood that trickled from an open laceration that ran through his eyebrow. "What the hell had happened?" Roy wondered. The last thing Roy could remember was putting a sheet on the bunk. The intense pain clouded his mind. Suddenly panic set in when he realized he might not be the only one injured. "Johnny! Cap! Mike! Chet! Marco!" Roy called out weakly to each of them. "Hey do you guy's hear me." Just silence greeted Roy. He coughed and struggled to move. He knew he had to free himself. He had to know if the others were okay. He prayed that his friends were still alive. Roy reached his hand down again to feel the support beam that had him pinned. He took in a deep breath and pushed at the beam hoping to move it enough so he could free himself. Unfortunately all Roy got in return for his efforts was searing pain running through his leg and a wave of dizziness in his head. He discontinued his attempt and closed his eyes. Roy knew he had to rest for a few minutes and rethink his escape. He couldn't afford to loose consciousness, now, not when the others needed him. But he lost the battle to stay awake. His last thoughts before passing out were of JoAnne, Chris and Jennifer. ~*~*~ Chet Kelly woke to a throbbing pain in his head and the sound of water running. He lifted his hand to his head and discovered a wet sticky mass on his forehead. He explored the spot with his fingers and found he was bleeding. "Oh man, what in hell happened." The last thing Chet remembered was thinking of Phantom tricks to play on Gage. Now his face lay in the broken remnants of the toilet. Chet shuddered at the thought of his face mixing with toilet water. He wondered if he had fully cleaned the bowl before his world came crashing in on him. "Damm you Kelly." Chet chastise himself, "here you are worried about toilet water and you don't even know if the others are okay." Raising his head and looking around Chet couldn't even imagine what would cause this amount of damage. "Cap, Cap do you hear me?" The only sound he heard was the water spurting from the broken basin and a few creeks and groans as the debris settled around him. Chet tried to get to his feet, but when he placed his weight on his right foot a sharp pain shot through his ankle. "Dammit!" Chet cursed. He didn't need this right now, not when the others needed him. Letting his body return to the floor, he tried to maneuver himself out of the enclosed toilet stall. Chet pushed and shoved with all his might at the debris that held him captive. Finally, part of a support beam gave way only to rain broken bricks, mortar, dust, and a light fixture down on top of him. Chet curled up in a ball as best as he could so to protect his head. Once things settled, Chet hesitantly pulled his head out of his arms and looked around. He coughed and choked on the heavy layer of dust that permeated the air. The site that lay before him was nerve racking. The lockers were nothing but splinters of wood and their contents' lay scattered everywhere. The doorway leading into the dorm was completely blocked and the wall facing the bay was gone. He could see the engine had been shifted off to the side and the rear half jammed inside the back part of the locker room. Remnants of the roof hung dangerously by only thin threads. One good shudder to the building and the remainder of the roof could crumble into the station. Chet weakly smiled, seeing the Smokey the Bear poster from Gage's locker, on the floor, undamaged. He thought this was a sign that everyone, including the disaster prone Gage, was going to be okay. Carefully, Chet began to pull himself over the debris. Support beams and bricks lay haphazardly before him. What ever happened to the station, Chet was relieved he came out of it virtually unscathed. He had to get to the radio and call it in. Then he had to find his station mates. Inwardly Chet prayed they were all, at least still alive. Chet took further note of the damage to the building as he crawled towards the vehicle bay. He knew deep down that it was possible that none of the others survived. By the time Chet inched his way to where the doorway should have been leading to the vehicle bay he was exhausted. He was sweating. His head ached and he had some discomfort in his chest. He dropped his head briefly to catch his breath. Rubbing his eyes, Chet looked up, surveying what was left of the bay. He was dumbfounded at the sight before him. "Dammit." Chet swore. He knew he had to gain control. Chet took some deep breaths to ease some of the pain in his head and to get a grip on the situation. Chet thought he heard a muffled moan somewhere near him. Hoping it wasn't his imagination, Chet carefully felt around. Finally he came in contact with a boot. A sudden wave of dizziness overpowered him when he moved too quickly towards his downed station mate. Chet now realized he might have been hurt far worse that he originally thought. He was going to have to take things nice and slow if he was going to be of any use to anyone. Once again the muffled moans sounded. "Cap is that you?" Chet inquired. All he got in return was more moans and groans. He knew that whoever it was, was going to need medical attention and soon. He had to get to the radio. "Hang on," he said to his downed station mate, "I'll see if I can radio for help," he said lightly tapping the shoe. Slowly, Chet crawled over the debris toward the communication station that used to be located between the kitchen doorway and the Captain's office. Chet's body protested with each move he made. "I swear I'll retire the Phantom. I'll never do another thing to Gage. Just let everyone be okay." Chet whispered. Half way across the bay, Chet glanced up at the radio console. It was completely smashed and he couldn't see the mike anywhere. "Figures. It's just my luck. The radio is shot." Suddenly Chet thought about the HT in the squad. He wondered if he could get into the squad and retrieve it. As he surveyed the squad, he found it crushed. A huge chunk of smoldering medal lay on its roof. "Great! If being injured and lost isn't bad enough, now I have to worry about a possible fire." Chet cursed. It was going to be a long shot finding the HT. Pulling his body across the bay, Chet could feel the debris digging into his skin and hands. After he managed to get near the driver's side of the squad, he stopped to take some deep breaths. Once again a dizzy spell washed over the firefighter. Finally, Chet took a deep breath and pulled himself up to the driver's side window of the squad. He was relieved to find the window had been smashed out of the door. Chet scanned the inside of the crushed vehicle. If one thing had gone right it was the fact that the HT sat centered on the bench seat and looked to be intact. Chet reached through the small opening being careful not to cut himself on the broken glass. He grabbed the HT. Relieved, Chet slowly slid down the side of the squad onto the floor beneath him. This floor sported a huge hole next to him and was littered with everything from wood, bricks, mortar, to light fixtures and wires. The few wires that still hung from where the roof should have been sizzled and arched around him. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Chet depressed the button on the HT and spoke. "LA. This is Station 51. We need help. The building has collapsed and there is a code I times 6 at this location." "10-4 Station 51," came the voice of the LA County dispatcher. Chet heard the familiar tones and paging coming out from the buried speaker. Finally relieved that help was on the way, Chet closed his eyes, resting his head on his bruised arms and waited. It seemed like an eternity to him, but Chet knew it had only been a few seconds since his call for help had been answered. He heard the sirens in the distance and was relieved. The pain once again drilled through his skull before he lost the battle to remain conscious. ~*~*~*~ Mike woke surrounded by darkness. His mind was in a fog, totally oblivious as to what happened. As Mike tried to move, a pain shot through his head and a wave of nausea overcame him. Stopping, Mike drew in deep breaths and swallowed hard, hoping he could keep his stomach where it was. Once the nausea passed, Mike tried again to move his body, only this time he took it slower. Pushing at the debris that encompassed him, Mike was able to bring his head to the surface, finding daylight. Glancing around he found the hose tower had toppled over and part of it lay over the pile of bricks that covered his body. Mike tried to get out of his tome, but found his body protesting. Pain penetrated his lower limbs and his head ached heavily with each movement. The smell of smoke, dust and soot permeated his senses. Mike glanced around at his surroundings. The rear bay door of the station was lying, twisted and half-propped up against the vehicles that were parked out back of the station. On top of it and scattered around the back of the station, was debris from the station itself - bricks, wood, wires, pieces of the kitchen, and equipment. The station was demolished. Immediately Mike panicked. He became anxious about his station mates. He wondered if any of them survived the destruction to the building. Once again, Mike tried to move. He needed to help his friends. He wanted to help his friends, but once again his body protested. Leaning back, Mike closed his eyes and through the fog in his brain, he heard sirens off in the distance. As the sirens got closer, Mike prayed for his friends. He slowly gave into the darkness that closed in on him. ~*~*~*~ Captain Stanley woke, surrounded by darkness. Debris covered him. Blinking his eyes, he tried to move only to have a shooting pain pass through his shoulder and head. A heavy wave of nausea swept over him. Closing his eyes, Stanley swallowed hard trying to fight to keep the contents of his stomach where it was. The excruciating pain through out his body was too much. His shoulder was on fire; his stomach finally rebelled. Stanley retched heavily, increasing the pain in his body to the point where he saw stars. Finally, because of the pain, Stanley's battle to remain conscious was lost before he had the chance to hear the sirens closing in on the station. ~*~*~*~ Marco also woke covered with some debris. Blinking his eyes, he could see blue above his head. It took a few seconds, but he realized the blue was in fact the sky above him. Marco moved his head too quickly and pain shot through his skull and a wave of dizziness passed over him. Marco closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he attempted to move again. Once the wave of dizziness passed, he opened his eyes and slowly glanced around. Marco quickly realized he was in what was left of the station's kitchen. The refrigerator lay only inches away from his body, its contents were broken and scattered about. Above his head, Marco could feel a chair leg. When he pulled on the wood, he found that the leg wasn't attached to the chair anymore. He held the wood above his head and noticed how it splintered, breaking away from the chair. Glancing toward the back part of the kitchen, toward where the parking lot would be, Marco found part of the wall missing. Where the parking lot was supposed to be, mounds of debris lay scattered. The one vehicle he could detect was a portion of the roof of Mike's truck. It was at that moment that Marco heard the sirens approaching. He closed his eyes and prayed for himself and his friends. ~*~*~*~ Johnny moaned. He thought he could hear someone's voice, but he wasn't sure. He was having a difficult time trying to breathe and he couldn't form the words to speak so he could answer. Each time he tried, pain burned through his chest and he struggled for his every breath. He wondered if the falling object he saw hit the station. His mind raced worrying about his coworkers. He struggled to move but the pain was too intense. He cursed under his breath as he tried to clear the debris covering him. He knew he was losing the battle to stay awake. Before losing consciousness, Johnny heard sirens in the distance. ~*~*~*~ Station 36 was the first to arrive, with Station's 45 and 110's only seconds behind them. The scene displayed before the crews rendered them speechless. Station 51 was almost totally collapsed upon itself. The front bay door lay twisted in the front driveway. On what used to be the center of the roof supported parts of a huge mangled engine from a large passenger jetliner. It was still smoldering. Captain Fredrick's of Station 36 paused, absorbing all he saw and quickly took charge of the situation as more help arrived. "LA. This is Engine 36. We've arrived at Station 51. It appears that an engine from a jetliner crashed onto the roof of the building. The structure has completely collapsed on itself. We are going to need a lighting unit at the scene to aid in the search for survivors. Send another squad and at least three ambulances." "10-4 Engine 36." The word survivors echoed in the heads of the firemen at the scene. Their moods were somber as they listened to the Captain's transmission to dispatch. They all knew they would be looking for survivors, but the likelihood that anyone survived this disaster would be nothing short of a miracle. With the arrival of Battalion Chief McConnikee, everyone gathered around him and the Captain's of 36's, 45's, and 110's awaited instructions on how and where to start the excavation of their fellow firemen. All of the firefighters knew they had to find any survivors within the first hour of their injury. In their trade, that was know as The Golden Hour, when life threatening injuries needed to tended to. They knew the catastrophe happened many minutes prior to their arrival so the Grim Reaper's clock was ticking. ~*~*~*~ Five hours after the initial call for help was placed with LA County dispatch, the last of the six men from Station 51's A-shift was removed from the rubble. Chet Kelly suffered from a broken ankle and a mild concussion. He required 10 stitches for a scalp laceration. He remained in the hospital for five days and off the job for six weeks while his ankle mended. Marco Lopez was discovered in the kitchen. He survived the accident with a concussion and bruises. He spent two days at Rampart, sharing a room with Chet. Mike Stoker was discovered in the parking lot of the station, near the hose tower. He was unconscious from the debris that rained down and covered his body. Other than a concussion and many scratches and bruises that covered his body, he came out of the ordeal with no major injuries. Like Marco, Mike spent two days in the hospital and returned to work two weeks later. He was assigned to Station 10, while Station 51 was out of commission. Captain Hank Stanley was discovered just outside the door of his office in the bay area. He was completely covered by debris from the roof. He suffered a concussion, minor lacerations, many bruises and a broken left clavicle, which required surgery to correct. He remained in the hospital for ten days and finished his recuperation in the comfort of his home. He returned to work ten weeks later after some extensive physical therapy. Roy DeSoto was discovered near his bunk in the dorm. Like he thought, he suffered a compound fracture of the left femur and a dislocated left hip, which required surgery to correct. He suffered a concussion and several cuts and bruises to his extremities. He was hospitalized for two weeks before being released to recuperate in the comfort of his own home. Like his Captain, he returned to work ten weeks later after extensive physical therapy. Johnny Gage was discovered last, buried beneath rubble. Somehow, the Gage luck saved him from death. The impact of the explosion blew the stokes out of the rear compartment of the squad. It landed on top of him and prevented him from being crushed from all of the bricks, wood, and lighting fixtures that tumbled from above. He suffered a concussion, cuts, and bruises and broken ribs, one of which punctured his left lung. He also suffered from a broken right shoulder. He required surgery to correct the damage. Two days after his surgery, Johnny came down with a bout of pneumonia. He was placed on a ventilator and sedated until the antibiotics took effect and was on the road to recovery. He remained in the hospital for two weeks and after extensive physical therapy, he returned to work ten weeks later. ~*~*~*~ The morning after the accident, headquarters learned that a jumbo passenger jet outbound to Chicago lost an engine over the city. Station 51 was totally destroyed by the impact of the engine or the excavation crews working to unearth its victims. Those on the scene and the families of those who were entombed were amazed that anyone survived the havoc. ~*~*~*~ One week after the accident, the site was complete cleared away and construction of a new Station 51 was underway. It was completed exactly three months later. A new Ward La France Engine and Rescue Squad were delivered to the new station. A ceremony to mark the re-opening of Station 51 and the return of all of the members of the A-shift was held. Many local celebrities and politicians were on hand to mark this happy occasion. The Chief had a ribbon cutting when the new station was opened. The six men from A-shift all held scissors to cut the ribbon. Some of the men still sported traces of the wounds from their injuries. But they also sported smiles on their faces that showed how glad they were to have survived past The Golden Hour. |