The Paramedic's Brother-In-Law

Chapter Forty-Four

It had been a couple of months, and Meghan’s schedule had stayed busy. Her current classes were a few weeks away from completion, and when she wasn’t teaching or working, her family was setting her up with dates. Meghan, having dressed for a class night, sat down at her dining table and pulled over her planner.

Who’d have thought that dating would be so hard?! She looked at the last month in her planner and sighed. I’m racking up quite the body count. Five studs, four duds. She also made note of the plans to meet someone else tonight over at Kelsey’s after she got out of class. At least this will be a short meet-and-greet. I need a decent night’s sleep tonight!

Meghan closed her planner and slipped it into her briefcase. She had already added her brush to the case, as well as a light tinted lipgloss. She wasn’t going to be dressed up for the meeting, but then again she didn’t have to look like she had been dragged in under the ambulance, either!

Class that evening was interesting. All of her students were finishing their clinicals rotations, and stories of calls flew as everyone tried to outdo each other on wild tales and cool calls. Add into the mix that tonight was all about skills practice, and soon splints and bandages and backboards filled the room, desks and chairs having been pushed out of the way to make room. Meghan walked amongst the groups, offering encouragement and advice.

This was Meghan’s favorite part of the whole class cycle – seeing students motivated to begin their careers and successfully practicing what she had taught them. Fred, standing on the other side of the classroom with a group of students looked up and smiled. This was also his favorite time of the semester, she knew. She saw a group floundering and started to head towards them to help when a knock sounded on the classroom door and it was pushed open.

One of the firefighter students, dressed in his turnouts, rushed through the door. “I need paramedics! There’s been an accident at the burn building! My instructor sent me to get you, and 911 has already been called!” He was breathing hard, and Meghan saw the fear in the student’s eyes.

“I’ll go,” Meghan said. She grabbed the trauma pack from the cramped instructor’s office, as well as a safety vest, her helmet, and her fire coat. The Fire and Rescue Technology instructors and the EMS instructors were very close and depended on each other to help teach their respective courses and provide safety during training. In the case of an emergency, both programs were in charge of safety at the college, so Meghan was not surprised to be summoned to help.

She handed the trainee the trauma bag. “What’s your name?”

“Scott.”

“Okay, Scott, let’s go. Carry the bag for me so I can get this coat on.” With that, Scott led her out of the classroom, through the building, and outside towards the burn building on the far end of the campus. Meghan trotted along, getting the coat on and secured before securing the helmet on her head more firmly. “Tell me what happened.”

“No fire tonight, but we were practicing room searches. Instructors set up fake beams and debris, making it difficult to get to the dummies and around in the rooms. We heard a crash, and I think someone might still be stuck under debris, not sure.”

They ran up to the huddle of students surrounding the lead instructor, Ted Schafer. “Thank goodness, Meghan! 911’s been called. Brad and Jerry are with the trainee. I’ll lead you up there, but watch your step.”

Meghan grabbed at the trauma bag from Scott, but Ted stopped her. “Scott, you are now Meghan’s right-hand man. Okay, let’s go. Everyone else stay outside!” he hollered and led Meghan into the building, turning on his torchlight so they could see.

He led them up three flights of stairs before turning down the hall towards a room at the end. Meghan could hear the sound of a PASS device going off and coughed against the smell of smoke and debris inherent in the building. She heard voices talking as they got close, and saw Ted’s light reflect off of the reflective striping on turnout gear.

“What do we have, guys?” Meghan asked, moving close so she could assess the scene.

Jerry McKinsey, one of the instructors, turned at her voice. “We had the rooms set up for search and rescue and tossed in some beams and debris to make it more challenging. Something shifted, and it crashed down on the trainee. He’s responding to us appropriately, so I’m not sure if he’s just pinned under everything, or if there’s an injury.”

Meghan pulled out a flashlight from her coat pocket, fumbling with it with the thick leather gloves she’d pulled on. She turned it on and moved closer to the jumble of wood, trying to see exactly how the trainee had gotten pinned.

“Hey there, can you hear me?” she asked.

“Yeah.” The reply was muffled through the trainee’s mask.

“My name’s Meghan, and I’m a paramedic. I’m here to help. What’s your name?” Meghan looked for a safe way to wiggle over to the trainee but wasn’t seeing an easy route.

“Tony Cox, ma’am.”

Meghan smiled. “Well, Tony Cox, do you remember what happened?” Behind her, she heard the sound of more boots heading their way.

“I was supposed to be clearing this room. I had to fight to get the door opened, and when I did and stepped inside, something fell on me, and here I am. I can’t get up!” Meghan noticed the sound of panic.

“Hey, it’s okay, Tony, we’re gonna get you out from everything, okay? Don’t you worry. I just want you to lay still and control your breathing. We’re figuring out the best way to get you out. Have you done the extrication classes yet?” She glanced back at the people behind her and saw the instructors were talking with a crew from Station 89.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Then you know we’re figuring out the best way to extricate you and should be starting to do that soon. Reinforcements just arrived, so I’m sure they’ll be ready soon. How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” Meghan shifted her light, leaning over what appeared to be the remains of a bookshelf so she could get a better view.

“Aside from my pride? The back of my helmet’s jammed into the floor, I think, and it’s giving me a crick in my neck.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Meghan empathized. “Anywhere else?”

“My right knee and lower leg feel like they’re on fire,” Tony admitted. “Not sure if I broke them, or if it’s just the weight of everything on top of them.”

“We’ll get them fixed up,” Meghan promised. “What about your breathing? How long ago did you go on air, and do you know how long your tank is rated for?”

“Not sure on time, but it was a 60-minute tank, and I’d just topped it off before we came out here.”

Meghan felt a hand slap her boot purposefully. “Tony, I’m here with you, but I need to chat with your teachers, okay? If you need anything, holler. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Meghan shimmied backward off of the bookshelf and found herself face-to-face with Captain Roy Burch.

“How’s the kid?”

“He’s awake and pretty oriented from what I can tell. Said something about pain in a knee and leg, perhaps some neck pain. I’ll need splints, a c-collar, and a backboard ready when we get this stuff off of him.” Meghan swiped at some dust on her coat.

“Do you think you could get down there with him?” Brad Price, the other Fire instructor, asked.

“Maybe. Tony said he thinks something’s pinning his leg, so I don’t want to put more pressure on that than necessary, but I think I might be able to work on the left side of the debris to get to him. What’s your plan for extrication?”

Roy stroked his chin. “I’m thinking sawzalls and jacks, but I’ll have the crew bring up the K-12, just in case.” Brad and Jerry nodded in agreement and relayed orders. Meghan turned her attention to Scott, who was standing up against the wall, his eyes huge as he took in everything going on around him.

“Scott? Scott, I’m going to need your help.”

It took a moment, but he focused back on her. “Oh. Yes ma’am. What do you need?”

“I’m going to be going back in there so I can watch over Tony while they extricate him. I need you to have a c-collar, a backboard, and a leg splint ready when I need them, okay?”

“Sure thing. Do you have splints and the collar in your bag, here?”

“Yes, they’re in there, as well as roller gauze and tape. I’ll need those, too. The firefighters who responded should have a backboard on their truck. Go down and get the engineer to help you get it out, and bring it on up here, okay? And if you need help finding something I request, just ask for help. You’re my liaison, okay? I know you’ll do a good job.” Meghan smiled at Scott and watched him seem to stand up straighter and take on an air of confidence. “Okay, go get the backboard, and I’ll be with Tony when you get back.”

“Yes ma’am!” Scott headed down the hall, and Meghan made her way over to where the captain and the instructors stood. “That trainee? Scott? He’s my liaison, guys.”

Jerry nodded. “He’s a good kid. Ready to get in there?”

Meghan sighed and squared her shoulders. “Sure. Now if I can remember how to play with the monkey bars…” She sat down on top of the bookshelf she had leaned over earlier, then scooted her legs around so that she landed carefully in the midst of the rubble. She had borrowed a better flashlight that clipped to her jacket, and they could see her light bobbing around as she carefully made her way halfway across the room to where Tony was.

She was able to wedge herself under some boards so that she could better see Tony’s head. “Hey, there, sport! Told you I’d be back!”

“Yes ma’am, you did. But why’d you pick your way over here?”

“I thought you’d like some company.” She winked at him and saw a tremulous smile come through the mask. “Besides, I’m the mole. I get to tell all of the firefighters what needs to be done so we can get you out of here.”

“The guys like to use Thomas as the mole when we train.”

“Yeah? Are you picking on him?” She asked. She saw more firefighters in the hall and heard the sounds of metal brushing against each other.

“No ma’am. It’s just that he’s short and scrawny,” Tony explained.

“Meghan! We’re ready!”

She flashed a thumb’s-up and leaned closer to Tony. “They’re ready to start getting you out of here. Cap brought up sawzalls and a K-12, so lots of loud noise. If you feel stuff shifting on top of you or more pain, let me know so I can tell them, okay?”

Vulnerable eyes looked up at her. “Okay. You won’t leave me?”

“No,” she promised. “I’m staying right here with you.”

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