Heaven's Gate Bridge thirty-four

Heaven’s Gate Bridge thirty-four

The new fire truck and the old horse drawn fire truck was at the church that the Millers attended. There was a small wind that was fueling the flames that was in the grounds area behind the church. It seems that someone wanted to clear an area behind the church and made it too close to the property. A couple of trees were on fire and due to the shift of the wind, the sparks jumped into the grounds of the church and seemed to be headed towards the buildings.

The old horse drawn fire truck was there first and the men were using some buckets to carry the water to put on the fire that was on the grounds. Their beautiful Dalmatian, Sherman, was sitting on the top seat watching the men as they did their work. He was also watching to make sure that no one would take any of the equipment of the fire company. Ten men were on the line and they moved the buckets with smooth proficiency. At the end of the line a young fire fighter would carry the bucket to the source of the water.

“This is a terrible time for one of our hoses to have a hole in it. We were going to get it fixed today.” said Cornym.

“Yes, tis a bad time indeed lad,” replied Dennis who slipped back into his Scottish accent when he was under stress.

“Hey! Here comes the new truck. It looks like we can get this fire under control and save the building after all.”

There was a group of people gathering at a distance. Children were pulling at their mothers to let them get closer and perhaps run to help. Standing at the front was the office staff of the church with Mrs. Johnson holding her hand to her throat. She looked as if she was hunting for someone. Then she pointed to the roof of the church.

“Oh my god. Look! I think that I just saw a burning limb fall on the church.”

“Yes. I think I saw it too. But I don’t see the Reverend Trent. Did he get out? Where is he?” asked Arlene.

The two ladies tried to get closer to the building and peer into a window. Half way there a policeman stepped in front of them and put up his hand.

“Ladies, what in the world are you doing? You can’t go back in there until the fire is out and the captain says it is clear for you to return.”

“Oh Officer Campbell, we were looking for the Reverend Trent. He was here to leave some notes for the substitute minister and is not out on this side. We just want to see if he is coming.” said Mrs. Johnson as she tried to take some more little steps closer to the window.

“The Reverend Trent is a grown man. He surely heard the fire bells and can see the fire in the back. But stay here and I will go around to the back to see if he is there. “

“Thank you Officer.” said Arlene.

The officer trotted around the corner to see if he could find Reverend Trent. As he passed the corner a strong smell of smoke hit him in the face. He pulled out a handkerchief to cover his nose. The smoke seemed to be increasing. He looked up and saw another flaming limb falling towards him just in time to jump out of its way.

The Officer came into the back area where he saw more fire than he hoped to see. The two sets of fire truck firemen were working together. The firemen with the hoses were now positioning themselves to get at the trees adjacent to the church. The men with the buckets were dousing out the fire in the grass. One of the older firefighters was pointing out the area that was smoking on the roof. He called the hose men who pulled their hoses to the grounds near the roof area and started to saturate the suspicious part.

Officer Campbell searched all around for Reverend Trent. He knew that anyone in their right mind would evacuate a burning building. However since he knew that the rector was not in the front and no where in the back area, he must still be in the building. The policeman went to the fire captain and began to explain the situation.

“I can’t let you into the building Officer. Are you sure that what the ladies told you is correct?” asked Fire Chief Blevins as he turned his head from spot to spot to make certain that all was going well.

“Well I know that Mrs. Johnson is usually a talker, but she does not make up things. If she says that Reverend Trent was still inside, I would be very inclined to believe her.”

“The fire seems to be contained to the roof area, so I will send in Callahan over there to check. He is also big enough to aid anyone who cannot evacuate a place on his own.” he said as he turned, “Hey Callahan! Come here! We might have an occupant who did not get out.”

Callahan, a tall brown hair fireman ran over to the chief and waited for more instructions. “Okay chief. Where do I go?”

“Officer do you know where he might be?”

“The ladies said that he was in the office. You go into that door over there and just it should be the first or second door. Remember to check the doors for fire on the other side. Don’t take too long and don’t start breathing in any smoke. The man’s name is Reverend Trent. He’s not too big, but should be able to get out with help.”

Callahan nodded with each piece of information. He turned and ran to the back door of the building like a person who was finishing a very easy race. He pushed open the door and entered the semi-dark hallway. As he entered the building, he noticed that the smell of smoke had begun to enter into the hallway. There was a sound of someone coughing coming from the second room. He raced to that door and touched it to see if there was fire in it. It was cool so he flung open the door and saw Reverend Trent on the floor on his knees, next to his desk, coughing harder. In the Reverend’s hands was a pile of papers and a book. Reverend Trent looked up and with no voice but mouthing the words, “Help me! I must get out!”

Callahan rushed to the side of the desk and put his arms under the old man and helped him to his feet. The Reverend turned to grab more papers from his desk but Callahan’s arms were strong enough to keep him from getting the papers or falling down again.

“Oh no Reverend. You must leave now. I don’t think the fire will get this far because we are putting water on the roof now. Let’s go!”

The Reverend knew that he did not have enough strength to resist and let the young man lead him out of the building. He clutched the papers and book that he had very tightly and staggered out of the building. As he and Callahan exited through the door, a small cheer went up. The Reverend seemed to be mumbling a sincere prayer of thanks for the young man who saved his life.