It was one of those mornings, the kind where you wake up and hear gun fire in the distance. The air was calm and smelled as usual. The sky was a crimson red color as the sun was rising. When Hazmat arrived at Station 2 for his shift, the bay doors were open and the brand new rigs were, well still brand new. He would come in, and gather all his gear together and place it out on Truck 2 for the time being. He would start to do his truck checks after sharing a friendly B.S. session with the relieved crew, about the previous nights' tour through the 'zoo.' He would hear Dlee, his best friend and LT, do a power-slide into his parking spot and of course getting out of the car and yawning like he always does. They would exchange a quick "thug hug" making fun of all the gang bangers that run around the town. It was just an ordinary slow day, absolutely nothing was on the schedule, as all the training had been completed already. The stale stringent smell of old coffee, and a musty odor of smoke glazed the station. The big screen was showing some game on TV, and the crew of course passed out on the recliners. The crew of 3 that day was snoozing along, knowing it would probably pick up once the night life came out to play.

It was around 1pm, just after lunch; the prime opportunity for some kid to light a fire just for the amusement of seeing his parents tax dollars at work. The over head speakers would click on, waking up Hazmat and Dlee. The computerized female voice would soon follow saying "Incoming Alert: Truck Response", followed by the fast paced voice of the dispatcher. "Battalion 10, B/C 10, Engine 17, Medic 1, Truck 2...Structure Fire...." Dlee had stood up and yawned..just waking up, causing a simultaneous chain reaction with Hazmat. Their probie, Mike, who was fresh out of the academy almost pissed himself when the tones had dropped. The 3 amigos rushed to the truck and began putting their gear on..first the turnout pants that were bundled around the boots, then the fire resistant hood, then the jacket. As Haz finished putting on his jacket he flipped the battery switch and the ignition switch, allowing the radios to crackle to life, and the glow plugs on the massive diesel engine cough to life. He would climb in and place the intercom headset on his head, and shut his door, looking around in the cab to see the status of the other two guys. Looking up just above his head, he would see a cluster of buttons, pressing one of them to turn all the bright red and white LED's on, sure to give almost anyone a seizure. He would hear the crumple and banging of the other 2 open mics on the headsets giving him the clue that it was almost time to go, once the red light hanging from the cab roof went off. He would press the brake, place the enormous truck into gear, release the air brake, and place his foot on the accelerator as the whine of the air brakes suddenly blasts.

They were surely on their way to yet another incident, caused by what Hazmat calls "Hathians Best"

More to come about this story in the following days.