… The fearless firefighter always fights fire with courage

Just as firefighter Jimmy Santos closes his tired ash-colored eyes and places his head on the narrow bunk at his lower Manhattan fire station, the sirens began to howl. He immediately jumps up and grabs his fireproof coat, rushing to pull it over the rest of his uniform, one that still reeks of smoke from the office complex that was on fire a few hours earlier. He slides down the pole at his fire station, picks up the rest of his gear, and joins the rest of his company, who are getting on their fire truck.

“Where is the fire?” Jimmy asks, as the red lights on the truck begin to turn.

“In the 13 and the Sixth”, responds his Captain. Why does that place sound familiar? Jimmy wonders. Sixth and 13th, he tells himself, trying to jog his memory, which has been a bit hazy lately. Four big fires in two days will do that, you know.

“Is the ARA Corporation on the 13th and 6th?” he screams above the clamor, regaining consciousness.

“Yeah, apparently something in his kitchen caught fire,” the captain yelled. “Most of the employees were evacuated, but some people are trapped there.”

“Oh no. That’s where my brother’s wife, Christine, works!” Jimmy exclaims. It does not mention that she is also pregnant. You need to focus on rescuing all the people and stabilizing the building. Since 9/11 and the horror she witnessed and survived as she watched the Twin Towers fall, she still has a hard time concentrating. You have to focus, he reminds himself, feeling his head begin to throb. Your brother needs your help. Maybe I should call him, Jimmy thinks fleetingly. No, that would worry him more. He decides that he will find Christine and take her to the small house on Cape Cod that she and her brother have just moved to, a few streets from their own duplex where she lives, above her parents. Think well, he tells himself.

The smell of smoke reaches Jimmy’s nostrils and he lifts his head. You can see the flames clearly as they begin to engulf what appears to be the third floor. As soon as the fire truck pulls up next to the six-story building, Jimmy quickly looks at the evacuees gathered across the street. Not Christine. “How many are missing?” he asks the policeman who is waiting for them.

“They look like three men and a pregnant woman,” replies the policewoman. “They are trapped in the kitchen and they have been communicating on the cell phone, so everyone is there. But hurry up, you will have to go up the stairs. The elevator is out of order.” Wasting no time, Jimmy dons his gas mask and runs into the building with a fire extinguisher, with some of his fellow firefighters right behind him. The others soak the outside of the building with the truck’s hoses and put up a safety net, in case someone needs to jump. You reach the third floor in a matter of seconds and you walk through the office with your heart pounding. “Christine, can you hear me?” he yells, as he pulls the pin out of the extinguisher and begins to try to put out the fire. He can’t see anything, including his boys; the smoke is too thick. Why isn’t anyone answering? He wonders, panicked. The rafters above him begin to shake and he realizes that he doesn’t have much time. Heading in the direction of the greatest heat, he nearly tripped over four crouched bodies. He touches what appears to be Christine’s blonde head, and her petrified eyes look up at him. “Jimmy! Thank goodness!”

“We have to act fast,” he urges, as he orders Christine’s three co-workers to move behind him as he and the other firefighters fight the flames that have practically filled the office kitchen. As soon as Jimmy sees a window, he proceeds to open it and pops his head out, searching for the safety net underneath. You see it when your company sees it in the window. Jimmy instructs them to place the net directly under him. Then he guides the three businessmen, who are coughing a lot, to the window and tells them how and where to jump. At the same time, he picks up Christine, who clutches her belly and staggers. “We’ll all get out of here fine!” yells at everyone. “Go!” And Jimmy and Christine go down the stairs, while the rest of the firefighters help the businessmen, who are about to jump into the safety net below.

Two minutes later, Jimmy and Christine are safe outside. After placing Christine on the gurney provided by the ambulance corps, who then take her to the hospital to check on her and the baby, Jimmy runs around the corner, soot flying from his normally jet black hair. He breathes a sigh of relief to see the safety net in place and to know that everyone has landed safely. Then he bumps into the nearest pay phone, calls his brother and tells him that Christine will be fine too. It is this bravery, generosity, and respect for humanity that makes Jimmy and all the other firefighters worth more than a million people!