LITMIR.BIZ

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bottle of oxygen out of the back of the ambulance. The heat from the burning abandoned warehouse was almost unbearable. Her work coveralls were sticking to her sweating body.

      This structural fire was the worst she’d seen as a paramedic working with the Austin, Texas, Fire Department over the last year. Her heart had leaped as the adrenaline had started pumping when the call had woken her and the dispatcher had announced what was involved. These were the fires she feared the most. With a warehouse like this, there was no telling who or what was inside. There were just too many opportunities for injury, or worse.

      She watched as the flames grew. The popping and cracking of the building burning was an ironic contrast to the peace of the sun rising on the horizon. She didn’t have time to appreciate it though. She had a job to do.

      Moments later a voice yelled, “There’s someone in there!”

      Sally’s mouth dropped open in shock as she saw Captain Ross Lawson run into the flames. Even in full turnout gear with the faceplate of his helmet pulled down and oxygen tank on his back, she recognized his tall form and broad shoulders. Sally’s breath caught in her chest. What was wrong with him? Her heartbeat drummed in her ears as she searched the doorway, hoping…

      Sally had seen firefighters enter a burning building before but never one as completely enveloped as this one. She gripped the handle of her supply box. Would Ross make it out? Would there be someone with him?

      The firefighters manning the hoses focused the water on the door, pushing back the blaze.

      Every muscle in her body tightened as the tension and anticipation grew. Ross was more of an acquaintance, as she’d only shared a few shifts with him since moving to Austin. However, he and her brother were good friends. More than once she’d heard Kody praise Ross. From what little she knew about him he deserved Kody’s admiration.

      Right now, in this moment, as she waited with fear starting to strangle her, she questioned Ross’s decision-making. Since she had joined the volunteer fire department back in North Carolina, Sally had been taught that judgment calls were always based on the safety of the firefighter. She doubted Ross had even given his welfare any thought before rushing into the fire.

      The loss of one life would be terrible enough but the loss of a second trying to save the first wasn’t acceptable. In her opinion, Ross was taking too great a risk, the danger too high. He hadn’t struck her as a daredevil or adrenaline junkie but, then again, she didn’t know him that well. Was this particular characteristic of Captain Lawson’s one of the reasons Kody thought so highly of him?

      James, the emergency medical tech working with her, stepped next to her. “That takes guts.”

      A form appeared in the doorway, then burst out carrying a man across his shoulders. The sixty pounds of fire equipment he wore in addition to the man’s weight meant Ross was carrying more than his own body weight. Sally had to respect his physical stamina, if not his reckless determination.

      Two firefighters rushed to help him, but he fell to the ground before they could catch him. The man he carried rolled off his back to lie unmoving beside him, smoke smoldering from his clothes.

      “You take Captain Lawson. I’ll see to the man,” Sally said to James as she ran to them.

      Ross jerked off his helmet and came up on his hands and knees, coughing.

      Placing the portable oxygen tank on the ground, she went to her knees beside the rescued man, clearly homeless and using the warehouse to sleep in, and leaned over, putting her cheek close to his mouth. As the senior paramedic at the scene, she needed to check the more seriously injured person. Ross had been using oxygen while the homeless man had not.

      Her patient was breathing, barely. She quickly positioned the face mask over his mouth and nose, then turned the valve on the tank so that two liters of oxygen flowed. By rote she found and checked his pulse. Next, she searched for any injuries, especially burns. She located a couple on his hands and face. Using the radio, she called all the information in to the hospital.

      “We need to get this man transported STAT,” Sally called to her partner.

      Another ambulance had arrived and took over the care of Ross, leaving James free to pull a gurney her way. With the efficiency of years of practice, they loaded the man and started toward the ambulance. She called to the EMT now taking care of Ross. “How’s he doing?”

      The EMT didn’t take his eyes off Ross as he said, “He’s taken in a lot of smoke but otherwise he’s good.”

      “Get him in a box. I still want him seen,” she ordered.

      Ross shook his head. “I’m fine.” He coughed several times.

      “I’m the medic in charge. You’re going to the hospital to be checked out, Captain.”

      He went into another coughing fit as she hurried away. She left the EMT to see that the stubborn captain was transported back to the hospital.

      Minutes later she was in the back of the ambulance—the box, as it was affectionately known—with the homeless man. While they moved at a rapid speed, she kept busy checking his vitals and relaying to the hospital emergency room the latest stats. The staff would be prepared for the patient’s arrival.

      The ambulance pulled to a stop and moments later the back doors were opened. They had arrived at the hospital. A couple of the staff had been waiting outside for them. Sally and one of the techs removed the gurney with the man on it.

      As other medical personnel began hooking him up to monitors, she reported quickly to the young staff nurse, “This is a John Doe for now. He was in a burning warehouse. Acute smoke inhalation is the place to start.”

      Just as she was finishing up her report, the gurney with Ross went by. She followed it into the examination room next to the John Doe. Ross’s coat had been removed and his T-shirt pulled up. He still wore his yellow firefighter pants that were blackened in places. Square stickers with monitoring wires had been placed on his chest connecting him to machines nearby. Aware of how inappropriate it was for her to admire the contours of his well-defined chest and abdomen, she couldn’t stop herself. The man kept himself in top physical shape. It was necessary with his field of work but his physique suggested he strove to surpass the norm. No wonder he’d been able to carry the man out of the burning building.

      His gaze met hers. Heated embarrassment washed over her and she averted her eyes. Ogling a man, especially one that she worked with, wasn’t what she should be doing.

      Ross went into another round of heavy coughing that sent her attention to the amount of oxygen he was receiving. The bubble in the meter indicated one liter, which was good. Still, at this rate it would take him days to clear the smoke from his lungs.

      Sally stepped closer to his side and spoke to no one in particular. “How’s he doing?”

      One of the nurses responded. “He seems to be recovering well. We’re going to continue to give him oxygen and get a chest X-ray just to be sure that he didn’t inhale any more smoke than we anticipated.”

      “I’m right here, you know.” Ross’s voice was a rusty muffled sound beneath the mask. He glared at her. This time her look remained on him.

      “You need to save your voice.”

      He grimaced as a doctor entered. What was that look about? Surely, he wasn’t afraid of doctors.

      Slipping out of the room as the woman started her examination, Sally stepped to the department desk and signed papers releasing Ross and the John Doe as her patients into the hospital’s care. Done, she joined the EMTs at her ambulance.

      She gave James a wry smile. “Good work out there this morning.”

      “You too,” he replied as he pulled out of the drive.

      In the passenger seat, she buckled up, glad to be out of the back of the box. She wasn’t a big fan of riding there.

      She shivered now at the memory of when she’d

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