Free Report from Engine Co. 82 by Dennis Smith

both knees.
    We start to get sprayed with rebounding water. Engine 73 is above us, and trying to move in. Carmine leans over, puts one
     hand on top of his helmet, and starts shaking his head. He doesn’t say anything, but his head still shakes.
    “What’s wrong, Carmine?” I ask.
    “I think I got burned.”
    “Where?”
    “On the neck.”
    I ask Captain Albergray for his lamp. Carmine is still moving the nozzle back and forth. I move his helmet up, and pull back
     his coat. “You did get burned, Carmine. It’s all blistered already, about three inches long. It must have been an ember.”
    Carmine moves out, and Vinny takes the nob. I try to think of something funny to say to Captain Albergray. I can tell that
     he doesn’t feel too happy. “Your company is slowly diminishing, Cap,” I say. “Pretty soon there won’t be any more Engine 82.”
    He smiles resignedly, and says, “It’s just one of those things. Look at the great job we did earlier. No one got hurt there.
     This is just one of those fires. They happen from time to time, that’s all.”
    The fire has darkened down. Chief Kelsen calls on the walkie-talkie: “Engine 82, I’m sending Engine 88 to relieve you. Report
     to me in front of the fire building.”
    We don’t mind giving the line to Engine 88, because it’s only a question of holding the position now, and keeping water on
     the fire. We did our job. The pressure is off and we walk down the stairs to a well-needed break.
    Vinny Royce, Captain Albergray, and I report to the Chief. He is a big man, handsome in that disciplined military way. His
     eyes are bright and alert, and as I look at them I can sense intelligence and concern. “You did a good job in there, Cap,”
     he says to Albergray. “Take your men now and rest for a while.” He looks at Vinny and me, “Nice job, 82.”
    We walk to the pumper where Benny, Jim, and Carmine are sitting, waiting for an ambulance to take them to the hospital. I
     am about to ask them how they feel, but Benny speaks first. “Did you hear about Richie Rittman?”
    “What?” Vinny asks.
    “He broke his ankle—at least they think it’s broke, but he made a good rescue. He got two kids and their mother out from up
     above. They were huddled in a bathroom. And as he was carrying a kid down the aerial he missed the last rung and went over
     on his foot. They took him to Bronx Hospital, so I guess we’ll see him there.”
    I go to get a drink of water from a kind of spigot Bill has set up at the hydrant. My mouth is very dry, but that happens
     after every fire. As I swallow the water, a strange feeling makes me bend over and spit out what is left in my mouth. It feels
     like the water has been pressed through a pinhole. The throat passage isn’t working right, and I tell Captain Albergray that
     I can’t swallow normally. He sends me to the Chief.
    The Chief takes my name and tells me to wait with the others for the ambulance. Besides the guys from Engine 82 there is a
     man from Engine 45 who tripped over a hose in the hall. He has a gash across his forehead, and he holds a handkerchief to
     it.
    The ambulance finally comes. It looks like a converted bread wagon, but it’s warm, and I feel relaxed as I sink into the soft
     mattress of the stretcher.
    “C’mon, get up and make room for the rest of us,” orders Benny. “What the hell ya think this is, a hotel?”
    It’s almost ten-thirty as we walk into the emergency room. There is a doctor and two nurses waiting for us. The doctor ministers
     to the man with the cut forehead, and the nurses go about cleaning the burns. One of the nurses, a large black woman, makes
     small talk as she works on Jim Stack. “You firemen are always in here. I don’t know why they don’t make a special room for
     you, with a big sign at the door: ‘FIREMEN ONLY.’ This hospital is busy enough, but you firemen make us twice as busy. What
     is it that you do that you can’t do without getting hurt? Lord