Chapter 26

When we arrived, Captain Hendricks briefed us. Most of the residents had already left the building, having been picked up by friends or relatives. The remainder was in the first floor lounge, awaiting transportation from a local transit bus to a temporary shelter at the Methodist church, where they'd be kept until hotel rooms were arranged.

There were fire engines and rescue trucks all around, and a couple of ambulances standing by- in case someone needed assistance, I guess.

The leak had occurred in the ceiling of the third floor west wing, near the lounge. A two-inch branch line had cracked at a fitting and flooded several apartments and the hallway ceiling on the third floor. By the time the sprinkler was shut off, the water had run down to the second floor apartments as well.

With the sprinkler off, the building was not habitable since it did not meet life safety code.

Another firefighter, Perry Johnson, and I were assigned to do a sweep of the third floor apartments. We were to make sure they were all empty, mark a large "X" on the door with chalk, and make sure the doors were locked to prevent thefts.

Perry and I took the elevator to the third floor. We donned our helmets, and tightened the chinstraps just in case. We decided to do the East wing first.

We entered each apartment with a passkey, called out, and did a quick walk through before locking the door and marking it.

After we cleared the East wing, we walked back through the lounge to the West side and propped the fire door open with a chock. The hallway was dim, since the power had been shut off and what little light there was came mostly through the lounge.

We worked our way down the right side of the hall and then back up. As expected, no one was there. We found two apartments that had been left unlocked, and made sure they were secure.

As we left, Perry walked through the door to the lounge ahead of me. I squatted down to remove the door chock. As I did, I heard a loud groan from the ceiling, felt a flash of pain, and then nothing.