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“What?”
“Still too much smoke coming out of that loft.”
He studies the roof for a moment.
“Think they’ve got more fire in there?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me. Hay’s a bitch.”
Nate comes back over the radio.
“Command, Folsom. We’re getting low on air. Pulling back. We’ll need another crew to finish.”
“Copy. Back out and change cylinders. Weber’s sending relief.”
I watch the open loft doors while the two helmet lights move toward the ladder. Nate is closest to it, with Novak farther east, working the hose around the end of a haystack.
Then the wind picks up again.
A hard gust comes out of the southwest and hits the barn broadside, pushing through the gaps in the old boards. The smoke coming out of the roof changes direction, and I catch a flash of orange near the west wall.
I move away from the engine.
“Rob. Look at that.”
He turns just as flames climb the exposed haystack.
“Shit.”
I key my radio.
“Command, Raines. We’ve got visible fire in the west end of the loft. It’s growing.”
“Copy, Raines. Folsom, Novak, evacuate the loft.”
Nate answers immediately.
“Command, Folsom. We’ve got fire moving through the west stack. We’re coming out.”
I can see Nate reaching the ladder when part of the haystack collapses. Burning bales tumble across the loft floor, scattering sparks and cutting off the route Novak was using to reach him.
Nate ducks away from the falling hay.
“Novak!”
The radio comes alive.
“Command, Novak. Fire between me and the ladder. I’m cut off. I’m at the east end. Can’t get back through.”
I hear his breathing through the regulator. He’s trying to stay calm, but he’s been working in that loft for twenty minutes, and he was already low on air when they started pulling out.
Nate comes back over the radio.
“Command, Folsom. Novak’s separated from me. Fire’s blocking the center of the loft. I’ve got the line, but I can’t reach him.”
“Copy, Folsom. Get out. Do not cross that fire.”
Caleb declares a Mayday and orders emergency traffic. Within seconds, he’s calling for the rapid intervention crew and ordering everyone out of the barn so he can account for them.
