Humanity Is Greater Than Duty
There was a fire in a local slum in streets of Drake. Drake, West Virginia was the largest coal-producing city in the USA. The people of Drake mostly worked in local mines and were not exceptionally rich. The whole place reeked of fumes and every inch of the ground was covered in coal dust. Just a spark in the wrong place and the flames begin to spread like wildfire.
Jason was supposed to be having a peaceful day off his job but when you are a fire-man in a coal-producing city, “peaceful” almost becomes a stranger. So, here he was, sitting in the back of a fire truck, the all too familiar siren blaring over the daily noises of Drake.
The engine pulled over near the slums. The roar of the fire and the shouts of the people screaming filled his ears as one of his colleagues threw open the doors of the back. He took in the horrific scene around him. Children crying, people dying and the sense of anarchy in the place was extremely unnerving. Jason rushed to grab a hose from the truck and immediately began helping his buddies fight the flames. It was quite some while before the flames got under control on the outskirts of the slums and a way was created to access the interiors of the slums.
Jason hurried in with his buddies to rescue any stragglers that might not have managed to get out. The team went through the slum quickly and professionally. As they were retreating, Jason heard a shout from a burning hut, “Help! Help! Help I am trapped! Somebody! Please!” Every fireman stopped in their tracks. They hurried to the hut. Jason was about to head in when the team-leader, Gordon, stopped him. “No, Jason. The fire has eaten through the foundations. There is no way you are making out of there alive!” He shouted over the roar of the fire.
“There is somebody alive in there! No way am I walking away,” Jason protested. Meanwhile, the screaming continued.
“Jason, there is nothing you can do! I wish there was, I really do but there isn’t. So, believe me, move on,” the chief insisted.
“Sir, but-”
“I SAID NO!”, the chief roared, “Protocol states that nobody is to enter a structurally unsound building! The whole building would come crashing on you! Please, understand that.”
“Fine, sir,” Jason replied fuming.
“Good.” As the firemen turned around, Jason rushed forward…straight into the hut!
“Jason!” screamed the team leader, but it was too late. Jason had already run in.
As soon as he entered the hut, the smell and fumes of burning straw filled his lungs. He quickly ripped off a sleeve of his uniform and tied it over his nose and mouth. The screaming still continued but was becoming fainter. The smoke is getting to him!, he screamed inside his head. He shouted, “I am coming! Keep calling!” The person must have heard because the screaming became louder again, “Here! I am here in the bedroom!”
Jason navigated carefully through the burning remains of the hut and reached the back of the hut. On the ground, lay a kid of fourteen, his leg pinned under a heavy beam that must have fallen off the roof. “Help! Help me please!” the kid sobbed. Jason quickly hurried to his side and said, “Don’t worry kid. When I say, push. Ready? On three. One…Two…Three!” Jason pushed with all his might and the log moved. He gathered the kid in his arms and began running. He was just at the door when a beam came lose. Jason just had enough time to look up and toss the kid right through the door. The kid landed on the ground outside with a thud. Captain Gordon gathered him up in his arms and slowly asked, “The man?” The kid made no motion except cry and Gordon’s eyes filled with tears too.
