"Into the Lungs of Hell"

The phone in my pocket rang.  I pulled the earbud from my ear, raised the phone and listened to Roxann's voice on the other end.

"Are you guys close?"

"Sure, why? is dinner ready?"

"Well, it's been ready for a while." She said.

Benjamin and I had been out on our nightly 2 mile walk about the neighborhood.  Before the phone rang a foul odor of burnt plastic filled the air, faint at first but strengthening with each step and breath.

Ben said:

"Smells like someone's playing with cap-guns."

"Nah, smells like an electrical fire." I replied.

I didn't say it, but I thought it, somewhere close a house was burning.  I looked around for smoke but saw nothing.  Then Roxy called and before I could finish telling her about how soon we would be home, I saw it.  To the north and on down Penny lane, black smoke billowed from a bright flame and lighter, gray smoke curled from the eaves of a single white house.  The fire and dark cloud of soot seemed to rise from the rear of the house in stark contrast like some menacing beast threatening to destroy the dwelling.

"There's a house on fire!  I've gotta go."

I hung up the phone and dialed 911.  The dispatcher put me through to the fire department and I was told that help was already on the way.

As I approached the house the neighbors were standing outside.  A woman - my age and her daughter.  Lots of words were exchanged, but I don't remember much of them.

"Is anyone in there?" I shouted to the woman.  I was now standing at the side of the house.  I could see the bright orange flame rocketing skyward from the kitchen window.  I stripped myself of my Ipod and my phone and handed them to Ben.

"No!" she shouted, "But there are 3 cats in there."  As I looked upon the deck I saw an older woman desperately trying at the door.

"Nana, Stop!  Come back!" the youngest girl shouted to her grandmother.  The calls fell on deaf ears as well as my own admonishing.

"Don't open that door!"

She wheeled back and with strength from some unknown force inside her, the elderly woman kicked the door and it swung open.  Black smoke poured from the opening and she shrank back.  Not to be deterred, she tried to enter the house but the heat and fumes held her back.  She began then to yell for the cats.

The sound was immediate and devastating like a jet taking off then exploding.  It felt as if the earth around us shook slightly, though it did not, as a woosh of flames exploded from the eaves pushing a small bit of debris into the air with a loud Whump!  Instinctively, I ducked my head.  My eyes turned to the old woman, she flew backward and scrambled off of the porch, smoke filling the air around us and the sky.  The smoke saturated the atmosphere and added an ominous glow to things around us.

Two large men approached us from the front yard.  All the usual questions about anyone being home.  The three of us scrambled to push the two automobiles from the rear of the house to the neighbor's driveway as one of the men popped them into neutral from the drive-train.  Then we removed the propane barbeque grill and a gas can from the deck and side of the house as quickly as we could.  Another, thin man ran to our aid.  He ran to the back door and fell to his stomach and slid into the house.

"Is anyone in here!!" he bellowed.  Satisfied with no answer he plead with bystanders for a wrench for the gas meter.  One returned and he disappeared to the other side of the house just as the first firetrucks arrived.

I rushed to Ben who was scared.  I had tried in the confusion to send him home but he didn't make it.  Are you OK? I asked him.

"Please untangle these" He said handing me a wad of headphones intertwined from our Ipods."I want to put mine on and make the noise stop"  I hugged him and assured him that things would be alright.  We watched as neighbors an firefighters worked together to unroll the great hoses.  A pumper truck moved down the street un-coiling a hose behind it to the hydrant.  Soon, the water began to flow.  The house was consumed now with thick smoke and bright orange flame.  The sun was setting and the glow was eerie.  The heat standing across the road was felt and Ben and I watched with almost the entire neighborhood and the gallant firefighters gave all they had to save the house.  At one point the front door was open and the bright, flickering flame glowed from inside like the lungs of hell, consuming all around it mercilessly.

After sending the ladder truck and a man up to fight the fire from above the roof, the men retreated to defensive positions and all we could do was watch as the house continued to burn.

Roxy and the rest of the kids came to get us.  We went home and ate our dinner luke warm and prayed for the family who lost so much tonight.