Writing prompts: Action/Adventure / A river / A child safety seat
I never know when the fire station I volunteer at will be called into action. Every time I hear the call out come over the radio, my heart races.
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BEEP BEEP BEEP – – – STATION 28 – – – BEEP BEEP BEEP
“STATION 28 – RESPOND TO A SINGLE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT. SOUTH RIVER ROAD. MILE POST 146. THERE’S A CAR IN THE RIVER. DRIVER IS STILL IN THE VEHICLE.”
“STATION 28 COPIES.”
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When I hear the call come in, I sprint to my car and race to the station. By the time I arrive, Engine 2832 is ready to roll.
“Grab your gear and let’s go. We’re going to meet Keith at the sight. His bag is already in the truck.”
Captain Martin starts pulling out of the station as I climb the steps into the truck.
“What’s the story?”
“You know as much as I do.”
The ride out to the scene of an accident is always surreal. It is both slow and fast. Time creeps to a crawl and it seems to take forever to arrive, but it also speeds up.
As the truck rushes down the street, sirens blaring, sitting high above all the other vehicles, my heart continues to race. I never know what I am going to see when I arrive at the scene.
We arrive at the location and quickly jump out to assess the situation.
Keith points down a steep embankment and indicates where the vehicle is.
“I just got here but I haven’t seen any movement.” He quickly dons his gear and we formulate a plan of action.
The Captain tosses me a life jacket as Keith ties a rope to the bumper of the truck. I tie the other end of the rope around my waist and put on the vest..
The Captain hands me a Halligan bar, “you may need to break a window. I’m not sure if you can get the door open.”
I slip the bar through a loop on my pants and make my way to the weed choked bank. As I lower myself over the edge I think to myself it never pays to be the probie.
The embankment drops abruptly into the river. I gasp for breath as I drop into the river. Luckily, it’s late summer so the water isn’t freezing cold. It’s also running lower than normal.
As I approach the car I yell, “CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? HELLO!!”
Peeking through the windshield, I see the driver’s long blond hair and a form slumped over the steering wheel. The water is pushing against the door as I try in vain to yank it open. I pound on the windshield in an attempt to get a reaction.
The force of the water presses me into the car as I make my way around it, trying to see if anyone else is in the vehicle. I spot a child’s safety seat in the back. I radio up, “the driver is unconscious and I have a child seat in the back. I don’t see anyone else. I’m going to try to enter the car.”
“Do not enter the car,” my Captain instructs. “Try to reach the driver, but do not enter. We have more help on the way.”
Acknowledging his command, I make my way back to the driver’s door. I pull the Halligan bar out of the loop and try to pry open the door to no avail. Finally, in desperation, I climb on the hood and smash the end of the bar into the windshield. The windshield starts to crack where I hit it.
I raise my arms to take another swing when my legs slip out from underneath me. I slide off the hood and into the water. Before I can get my feet on the ground I feel the rope tighten around my waist as the Captain and Keith pull on it to keep me from floating away.
Smashed against the car and unable to get my feet grounded due to the pressure on the rope, I yell into my radio.
“Give me some slack.” I gasp, breathless, as the tension lessens.
I climb back on the hood and resume pounding on the windshield. I finally get it smashed enough that an opening appears.
I yell again. “HELLO. CAN YOU HEAR ME?”
A small groan escapes from the driver.
“I’m Troy. I’m here to help. Are you ok?”
Another small groan and then the the driver tries to move.
“Hold still. Help is on the way. Is there anyone else in the car?”
A mumbled and welcome no reaches my ears and I radio up. “There’s just the driver in the car.”
I hear sirens approaching as I work the prybar into the windshield and start pulling the glass apart. It splinters into small shards as I force a larger opening.
I reach into the hole and pull out on the glass, removing as much of the windshield as I can. I hear voices approaching as more help arrives.
An EMT from another station climbs in the car with the driver and quickly checks her vitals. She is stunned but uninjured. With the help of another station we get the passenger door open and extricate her.
A backboard is lowered down and she is strapped on so we can pull her up the embankment.
A tow truck shows up to remove the car from the river and we head back to the station for debriefing.
After stowing all the gear and cleaning up, Captain Martin and Keith congratulate me on a job well done.
“Good job, firefighter.” Keith slaps me on the back, nearly knocking the breath out of me.
The Captain tosses me a towel. “After you get showered and warmed up, it’s your turn to clean the truck.”
I grin as they walk out the door. The promotion from probie to official firefighter comes in the strangest ways.