The fire fighters of Firehouse 22 heard a fire alarm around 10 P.M. They quickly put on their boots, hats and coats, as the truck engines roared.
The fire was at 142 Maple Street. The trucks raced to the fire with their sirens sounding and their lights flashing. Cars pulled over to the sides of the streets and stopped to let the fire trucks pass.
As the trucks turned onto Main Avenue, Captain Donovan and Ricardo Lopez could see a red light in the night sky and a thin tower of flame above the trees.
Ricardo has two children, Carmen and Juan. They were at home watching TV when they heard the fire alarm. They knew it was their father’s firehouse. They decided to go to the fire. They turned off the TV and told their mother they were going.
Mrs. Lopez also heard the siren. She also knew it was her husband’s firehouse. She also knew she would not sleep until it was over and her husband called to say everything was okay.
Carmen and Juan ran to Maple Street. They remembered their friend, Mr. Ozimer, who had an electronics store there and was very kind to them. They hoped it was not his store.
The firemen arrived at the address and were happy to see that it was an old building. Nobody lived in it. Suddenly they saw a man at the top of the building. He was standing on the roof and waving. The roof was too high for the ladder, so they put the net in place for him to jump. But the man was afraid to jump.
Ricardo Lopez decided to go up and get the man. He had to go in the back of the building because the fire wasn’t so bad there. Suddenly he saw his children. “What are you doing here? You should be home with your mother! You know how she feels when there is a fire!”
Juan started to speak, but his father said he would talk to him later, and went around to the back of the house.
Suddenly there was a terrible crash, and part of the front wall fell to the ground. When the smoke cleared away, the captain looked for the man on the roof, but he had disappeared.
“I hope Ric can get there in time. He only has a few minutes,” said Donovan.
