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“Are we all in agreement? Baker never cooks again?” Uproarious laughter filled the room coming from my crew—well, everyone except poor Baker, who was as red-faced as I’d ever seen him.

We were all back to work after our shared food-poisoning incident. I walked into the kitchen, where everyone was gathered for coffee while Team One finished stocking supplies on the trucks and checking the equipment before they ended their shift.

Our brothers and sisters on Team One entered the kitchen for the debrief, accompanied by Cap. “We had a slip-and-fall last night. The patient was conscious and responsive when transported to Mercy General with a knee and ankle injury.

“The only fire-related call was a trash fire at the county recycling center. Someone put a combustible can in a recycling bin, and it exploded. Fire was contained to one compactor, thanks to a quick-thinking employee with a fire extinguisher. We were called in to double-check for hot spots. Any questions?” Cap stared at me, and I shook my head. We were clear.

Cap nodded. “I hope all of you are feeling better because we need a damn day off and the toilet paper supply is running low.”

The smirk on his face told me Cap thought our misfortune with spoiled chicken was comical. I could personally certify it wasn’t.

“Thanks, Cap. We’re all healthy, and we appreciate your crew stepping in when we needed the coverage. We’ll happily do the same for all of you if it’s ever necessary.” I glanced around to see my crew nodding in agreement.

Captain Blake stood. “We’ll hold you to it, Ember. Debrief over. Thank you all for a good shift. Be safe out there.”

Everyone shook hands as Team One left the station and we took over. We emptied the dryer and made our bunks before we ventured into the bay to double-check supplies.

After seeing the previous shift had done its job, I went to my office and the crew went into the lounge to wait for me to compile the training schedule for our shift. Just as I was reviewing the drills we’d completed last shift, the tones blasted.

“Engine 2, Truck 2, Medic 2. Fire at old Playa Del Ray Beach. Abandoned arcade building on the old boardwalk. Support required for CAL FIRE Station 80. Emergency channel ten.”

“Let’s roll,” I ordered as I rushed through the lounge.

We all filed into the bay, pulled on our turnouts, and collected our gear bags. I climbed into the officer’s seat, and once the rest of the crew was in the engine, Fuentez shifted into gear and hit the siren. We were speeding to the scene in no time, and when we arrived, it was a fucking mess.

Many years ago, the Playa Del Ray Beach area had a boardwalk that rivaled all other boardwalks on either coast. When the area was abandoned, most of the businesses were boarded up or torn down to create walking and biking paths, but there were a few buildings left for reasons unknown.

The old fifteen-thousand-square-foot arcade was one of them, and it was burning as we rolled onto the scene. I wasn’t sure why Station 80 didn’t just let it go under a controlled burn. One less eyesore on Playa Del Ray Beach.

“Station 2 reporting on scene. Where is incident command, over?” I asked over the radio.

“Ember, this is Captain Vaughn with incident command on the north side of the fire. Copy?”

Theo Vaughn had been a training officer at the CAL FIRE Training Academy in Ione when I started my firefighting career. He was tough but fair and had been promoted to captain at the same time as I was promoted to lieutenant.

“Copy, Captain Vaughn. Where do you need us? Over.”

My team had gathered around to await orders. It wasn’t the first time we’d assisted Station 80 with a massive fire.

“Ember, get a line running toward the southern side of the building to keep the fire from spreading to the nearby lifeguard station. The arcade should be abandoned, but clear for vagrants. Over?”

“Copy, Captain. Ember Out.” I turned to my crew. “Fuentez and Nguyen, get a charged line to the back entrance.”

Scanlon stepped closer. “LT, are we sure there’s nobody in there?”

My gut told me she made a good point. “Get Collins to go with you and clear the building. Take the TIC with you in case the smoke is too thick to identify anyone inside. You’ll have the thermal images to guide you. Fuentez and Nguyen follow her and start streaming the building after they’re inside.”

I turned to Wray, our ladder truck operator. “Get the ladder closer and get Fischer to advance a hose and straight stream the roof.”

My gut churned because the situation was volatile and subject to change at any moment. That shitty building was in worse shape than I thought. I reached for my radio.

“Engine 2. Emberly for Scanlon. Over.”

“Copy, LT. Scanlon here.”

“How’s it going in there? The place is a tinderbox. Any signs of life? Over.”

“Negative, LT. There’s a bunch of busted-up junk in here. It’s just going to feed the flames. There’s a propane smell in this half of the building. Over.”