July 1st, 1996.
Claire Johnson is an eighteen year old Caucasian female. She grew up in the impoverished district of Eastside. As a kid she Despite growing up in a tough neighborhood, Claire always found solace in music. From a young age, she showed a natural talent for singing and playing instruments, and would often perform for her family and friends. As she got older, she became more and more passionate about music, spending hours each day practicing and writing her own songs. When Claire turned eighteen, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a musician.
However, she soon realized that making a living as an artist was not easy, especially for someone from a poor background like herself. So, she began to look for other ways to support herself while still pursuing her passion. That's when Lusty discovered the world of firefighting. She was drawn to the idea of helping people and making a difference in her community, and decided to apply to become a probationary firefighter. Despite facing many challenges along the way, Claire's determination and passion helped her to succeed, and she is now proud to be serving her city as a firefighter. She got her nickname because her parents and friends from school said she "sings" after music so they call her Lyricist for short.
After specialized training she was assigned to Squad company 141 in Riverview. The building takes a Romanesque Revival style facade taking up a single building. It features a two garage unit space. The building also has space around the back. The interior with several refueling hoses, boxes, lockers and multiple emblems and badges on the walls. Various equipment and tools are found at the back left of the station. The first floor has a kitchen communications room, a gym and officers room, the second floor has the bedroom and bathroom.
While she was getting used to the firehouse the fire bell went off because a construction worker was pinned by a piece of rebar. Squad 141 was stationed in the city of Empire in the residential district of Riverview where from their firehouse to the construction site is twelve miles. They were a few miles out while in Downtown but dispatch told Squad 141 to cancel and return to quarters because Rescue 18 got done with their call and radioed that they would gladly take the call because they were four blocks away.
While they were driving back to their firehouse they were called to assist firehouse 87 with a fire in the basement of a hardware store. When Squad company 141 got there the hardware blew up and collapsed. Claire heard the Lieutenant of Squad 141 talk to the officer of Engine 87 and the officer revealed four members of Engine 87 and four members of Ladder 87 were in the hardware store when it blew up and collapsed.
Squad 141 Lieutenant radioed in a fourth alarm assignment, a 10-60 (major emergency) alarm and a 10-66 (missing, trapped, lost or injured firefighter needs extraction) and requested a Rescue Squad and Collapse rescue. He also requested the police to evacuate the area by a four block area around the scene.
Claire and the other firefighters on the scene wore their breathing apparatus and air masks due to all the dust and possible toxins that would be in the dust. Claire and the team she works in were divided with three including Claire would aid in the search and rescue while the other three would use their 1 ¾ and 2 ½ attack lines to fight the fires. Some areas were so hot that even with their protective bunker gear the heat in some areas was too hot to operate it. They had a general idea where the eight missing firefighters were but their PASS alarms overlapped with each other.
They didn’t wait for the fourth alarm assignment, 10-60 assignment, and the 10-66 assignment. All three battalion chiefs and both Division chiefs and all three safety battalion chiefs, and both Special Operations Command chiefs went to the alarm too to lend a hand in their expertise and to supervise the rescue operations.
Claire and the others moved the rubble but some areas were too hot that even with streams of water it was still too hot. So they had to bring in a backhoe and other construction equipment to dig around and in areas that are too hot. Out of the blue there was another explosion which knocked down or had the firefighters take cover. They had to put a hold on the rescue operations until they could fully put out the fires or smother it.
They were able to save one firefighter but he was in such a critical condition that he couldn’t be taken to the hospital by ambulance so they had to call in an air ambulance but they still kept looking. After seven hours it was now four pm and they were able to go back to the firehouse and they saved one firefighter; the other seven were killed but the street was blocked off to have crews to clean up the rubble and find out the cause of the explosion and collapse.
Stolen story; please report.
The phone in the firehouse rang so a member of Squad 141 answered it but told Claire it’s for her. She got to the phone and it was her parents who were worried sick and when she asked how they heard about the emergency she was told that they were at work and on their lunch breaks and just thought that she was in the rubble and had thoughts that their only child was killed in the line of duty. She was able to tell them that she’s fine.
The members of Squad 141 overheard her parents call her Lyricist and asked where and how she got that nickname. She told them that her parents and friends when she was in middle school where her parents and friends said that she would “sing” because she loves to listen to music, sing, and hum. She also told them that she has been called that since she was in seventh grade because she loves music.
They ask what music she likes and she told them she loves to listen to Jazz and Blues, doo-wop, rock and roll, big band, and 1950s mainstream pop and rock music. She also mentioned that she taught music to children, teenagers and adults on the side and they have accommodated her schedule as a firefighter so her classes won’t show up when she’s on shift. Before they asked she told them that she does it for free and doesn't want monetary gain because she loves music and doesn’t care if someone pays or not but she’s doing it for free, she even tells them that she does play guitar and the violin.
***
At night on the second floor.
The fire bell went off where Squad Company 141 were called to aid in the search of a person who drive their car in the river but Claire wasn’t allowed to go into the river due to the fact that she wasn't trained in blackwater rescue and was told that the river is three hundred feet deep and there were stuff in the river that can snare or hurt a firefighter diver and since she wasn't trained in underwater rescues the Lieutenant wasn’t going to risk a probationary firefighter getting hurt or killed on her first day in doing a emergency rescue she wasn't trained in. She was also told that the small rubber boat in the river in the middle are firefighters who are specially trained in water rescues and in level six rapid water rescue.
Claire stayed by the Lieutenant and it wasn’t until sunrise until they were able to find the vehicle but it was found by the Empire Police Department Special Weapons and Emergency Service Unit that found it and radioed in where the car was. Turns out some idiot was testing his homemade underwater scuba gear while trapped in a car to see how long he would last before needing to return to the surface.
***
Back at the firehouse.
Claire was looking at the response are for Squad 141 and they only respond to Riverview, Tall wood, High wood, Anderson and Downtown which is all northern half of the city and they only protect homes, apartment buildings, low rise commercial buildings, and mix residential-commercial mix high-rises/skyscrapers and the apartment buildings in Anderson. Their rival, Squad 525 has the same but with factories and the ports but they’re more highly trained in high rise fires and chemical fires where Squad 141 is more trained in residential and commercial buildings and with some wildland firefighting.
Claire also asked why they have another fire engine behind their main rig and a CO2 unit truck. next to their rig. The Lieutenant told her that the 1964 open cab fire engine had a one thousand gallon tank with 1 3/4", 2 1/2", 3 1/2" and 4" in 150' lengths. He also told her that Squad companies were initially established by the Fire Department Nation of Little Bird to serve as “manpower companies” to supplement the manpower and operations of engine companies and ladder companies. Today, squad companies can function as either engine Companies or Ladder Companies at the scene of a fire or other emergencies, but they were also equipped with the same equipment and specialized tools as the rescue companies. Some of these tools and equipment include the Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tool systems, various specialized cutting and lifting equipment, emergency medical services equipment, rope rescue equipment and other tools and equipment. He also told her that Squad 134, 135,136,137,138 and 138 was formed on August 1st, 1914 due to the First World War and they’re in the Little Bird capital. Squad 141, and 525 were formed on October 26,1950 for Squad 141 and September 10th, 1953 for Squad 525. He told her that Squad companies 139,140,142 were formed on July 1st, 1942 due to World War 2 and is in Las Adventure, and Squad companies 143,144,145 are in the city of Fort Carson, and finally Squad companies 146,147, and 148 were formed between 1945 and 1950 to serve in Fort Sunction.
She thanked him for the history information. The Lieutenant told her that they perform the same roles as Rescue Companies if a Rescue company isn’t available but they were the second group of firefighters in the 1950s had to adapt new technology such as automatic tools to allow for faster forcible entry and they had new challenges such as rising high rises and other new hazards.
Claire then went over to a photo array at the back of the firehouse. She spotted her uncle who was a member of Squad 141 from October 26, 1950 until his death in Spring of 1988. She didn’t know that.
“I didn’t know that this firehouse housed two other companies,” said Claire.
The Lieutenant told her that the firehouse used to house Engine 47 and Ladder 47 until they were moved to Eastside on November 4, 1955 because Eastside didn’t have a fire company but all the other districts did and with the rise of arson in 1954 to 1980.
***
In the Eastside after work and taking a bus and a subway train.
“How was work Claire?” asked Claire's father.
Claire replied, “Fine. My first call was to a construction worker pinned by a piece of rebar but we were canceled so while heading back to the firehouse we got a call to a fire in a hardware store but we were three blocks out when it collapsed and blew. My second call was someone who drove into the river . We got the call at 3 am but the police didn’t find the car until 5:30 am. Turns out it was a idiot that was testing homemade underwater scuba gear. But he locked himself in a car and couldn't get out."
Claire told her mom and dad about her first day and they jokingly told her that her hands were full. She didn’t find it funny because it was an emergency she never wants to go through again.