“I got him! I got the kid!”
Then another voice. “Second victim on the couch. Unresponsive. We need a medic now.”
The fire started in an old space heater in the hallway. Milo’s grandmother had taken her sleeping pills and never heard the smoke alarm.
She was in the ICU for four days with smoke inhalation.
She survived.
So did Milo. Not a single burn.
The fire captain said the towel under the door and staying low by the window bought him the minutes he needed.
When I took off my headset, my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t hold my water bottle.
Dale was still standing behind me.
He didn’t say anything for a long time.
Then he picked up my written warning off my desk and tore it in half.
“Go home, Bev,” he said quietly. “Take two days. Paid.”
He went into his office and closed the door.
