Chapter 45
“No way!” Beta Richard exclaimed in shock, “Why didn’t you say
anything earlier? Why wait until now?” He asked the man.
“I didn’t know….” The man cried out.
“You didn’t know what?” Beta Richard asked him, getting
impatient.
“I didn’t know that the fire was going to keep spreading rapidly.”
The man replied and Beta Richard shook his head in
disappointment. “The chemicals are used in the production of
our products but they are flammable in their uncombined state.”
The man said, adding more details.
“So what do we do now?” Beta Richard asked, turning to the
incident commander(IC), his eyes searching for reassurance as
the sound of cackling flames and shouting firefighters
persistently filled the air.
“Exactly, what do we do, IC?” Beta Lily pressed, her voice laced
with concern, as she glanced towards the burning building, her eyes squinting through the smoke.
“We have to do something as soon as possible to avoid a greater
calamity.” She added.
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The incident commander nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his forehead, “We have to restrategize,” He said and pulled out a blueprint of the building from his emergency response kit.
“Where exactly are these flammable chemicals located?” He
asked the man. “I mean, what floor is it?”
“The sixth floor. Store 605. The gallons are right at the entrance, beside the door.” He answered quickly and the commander
nodded.
He then began to study the blueprint intently, as quickly as he could, tracing the layout with his fingers as he marked out
certain locations.
“Hmmm!” The incident commander mused and took a second look at the burning building, examining the extent of the fire.
“The fire is already getting to the third floor, we have to do something right now, sir.” One of the responders suddenly said
to him.
“We can make it if we go in through the sixth floor right now, at
least we’ll be able to get the chemicals before it spreads further.”
He added and the commander sighed.
“Hold on a moment,” The commander said and walked into the
noisy crowd. Shouting above the din, at the top of his voice, he
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asked, “Is there anyone here who has anything flammable in
their stores?”
The crowd murmured and looked at each other with
uncertainty, exchanging nervous glances. The sound of nervous
whispers and shuffling feet also filled the space as some of them
stepped back, with their eyes looking towards their own stalls,
while others shook their heads vigorously.
“Okay, that means it’s a little safe for now.” He muttered to
himself and walked back to meet the rest of the team members.
He turned to the store owner, his eyes narrowing intensely.
“How many chemicals are in your store in total?” He asked, his
voice firm and commanding.
“We need to know. This will help us to determine how prepared
we should be and how many more hands we would be needing.”
He said again to the man who didn’t look too sure about what he
wanted to say.
The store owner hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. “I…I‘
m not entirely sure. He stammered, “but I think there are about
nine gallons,” he continued, his voice laced with uncertainty.
The commander’s expression turned stern. “You think? No, I need the exact amount,” he said firmly, his hands on his hips. “We can’t just assume here, there are too many lives at stake for
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crying out loud.”
“Try to remember.” The commander urged the man, his eyes searching the man’s expression for anything possible..
The man took a few seconds to think about it before he
responded again, “Yes, I’m sure. There are nine gallons.” He said, confidently, his expression, firm and the commander sighed in
relief.
“Alright!” The commander clapped his hands to get the attention
of the rest of the team.
“Listen up team! We have nine gallons of flammable chemicals
located at store 605, on the sixth floor, right at the entrance,
very close to the door.” He gave out the details to the team
members, his voice clear and authoritative and they all nodded
in understanding.
“You have the go–ahead,” He instructed, his voice firm and
sharp. “Go in through the sixth floor and get the chemicals out of
there as quickly and safely as possible.”
The team responded in unison, “Yes, sir!” their voices, loud and
determined.
“Alright, let’s move, and be cautious!” He ordered, his eyes
scanning the surroundings.
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The team sprang into action, rushing towards the burning
building with urgency, while their commander remained
outside, his radio in his hand, at the ready, monitoring the
situation from outside and preparing to provide further
instructions.
After about forty five minutes and with constant
communication with the commander, the team arrived with the
chemicals, safely secured.
“Wow. Good job guys.” Beta Richard and Lily commended them
all, a bit relieved that they were able to get the chemicals out
before those chemicals caused more havoc.
“So, what is the next line of action?” Beta Richard soon asked
impatiently, his eyes fixed on the commander.
The fire kept burning relentlessly and Beta Richard got really
worried.
“The firefighters are still trying to quench the fire but it’s looking like it’s a very difficult task.” He said and they all looked
at the fire which truly seemed like it wasn’t ready to stop
spreading any time soon, despite the efforts of the other
firefighters.
“Yes, the firefighters are struggling to contain the fire,” He
replied, “but we need to find its source to truly stop it.” He said to
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him.
“But how do we do that seeing as the whole ground floor to the
third floor is still on fire.” One of the team members quickly
spoke up.
“So, what do you advise?” The commander asked him but before
he could answer, the firefighters‘ team leader ran to the
commander.
“Sir, the fire keeps spreading. The water doesn’t seem to be
having so much effect on it. I’m afraid it might get out of hand if
we don’t do something different.” He voiced his worries and the
commander sighed.
“Sir, I was thinking, we could counter the fire from both ends.
Half of the team could start from the top, while the second half,
from the bottom, will counter the fire using AQUEOUS FILM
FORMING FOAM(AFFF), instead of water on high–intensity
areas on the ground floor.” The team member answered the
commander’s question.
He carefully analyzed his plan, while the commander listened
attentively, analyzing the situation in his head also.
“Increasing the pressure of the water, we counter the fire from
the top, stopping it from spreading there.” He continued.
L
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“Countering it from both ends with different fire suppressants?
The ground and the top. Is that what you’re saying?” The
commander asked him.
“Yes, commander. That way we would be able to prevent the
fire from spreading and find the source of the fire.” He answered
and the commander nodded in agreement.
“Yes, that’s perfect. I think that should solve the problem.” The
commander commented.
“High water pressure from the top and AFFF from the bottom.
Can you make that happen?” The commander asked, turning to
the team leader of the fire team.
The team leader nodded, “Yes, sir. By attacking from both ends,
we can definitely contain the fire and identify its source.”
“Perfect! Get everything prepared, we begin in three minutes.”
He ordered and they immediately got to what they were
instructed to do.
In exactly three minutes, the fire fighters and the other team
members immediately got to work, doing their best to ensure
that the fire was contained, while everyone watched on, hoping
that this time, their efforts would yield something positive.
“Richard?” Beta Lily suddenly called her husband, who was
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standing beside her.
“Yes?” He answered, turning to her and at the same time, taking
quick glances at the burning building and the firefighters at
work.
“I don’t know if it’s just me. Maybe I’m overthinking it or
something. But I don’t know why I feel like this is not some
ordinary fire. I feel strongly that this could have been an
intentional act. I mean, with how serious this whole thing is, it
seems like it is beyond what it looks like.” She voiced her
concerns and her husband nodded in agreement.
“You know, I didn’t want to scare you, that’s why I haven’t said
anything about it yet. This is very different from the other fires
that we have seen in the past.” He replied, speaking about his
concerns too.
“And those weren’t this difficult to contain.” She added and he
nodded in agreement.
“But we can’t just jump to conclusions. We have to see evidence
before concluding.” He said, looking at the fire which now
looked like it was getting contained little by little.
“I agree. I hope it is not what I think it is though, but I feel it
strongly and my instincts are never wrong, you know.” She said
to him again, a bit confident and he became lost in thoughts.
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After what seemed like an hour, the fire was finally put out, and
the people, although sad about their lost properties, cheered the
firefighters for a job well done.
“Check for casualties immediately. Search every corner!” He
ordered the first responders who immediately rushed into the
building but came out after a long while.
“Thankfully, there are no other casualties aside from the ones
who have been transported to the hospital hours ago.” One of
the responders said and they all sighed.
“Okay, well done.” The commander commended them as they
went back to the ambulance.
Rushing towards the commander shortly after, one of the
firefighters exclaimed, “We’ve identified the cause of the fire!”
4
With his face completely stained with soot from being in close
contact with the fire, he paused for a moment to catch his
breath. “It appears to be a deliberate act, but the perpetrator
tried to make it look like an accident.” He added, and as soon as
Beta Richard, Lily heard, they exchanged serious glances as they
didn’t want to believe that they heard the right thing.
“Are you sure about what you just said?” Beta Richard
immediately asked, walking towards the young man.
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“Yes, Beta. I’m very sure.” He replied confidently and Beta
Richard frowned because this could only mean one thing- The
pack was under attack!
