A firehouse and dog

I was given a picture of a dusty and dirty fireman getting kisses from a Doberman and this was the product.

As the siren sounds and twelve men rush to their gear and trucks, the firehouse dog Rogo, sits patiently waiting for their return. As each man reaches for his helmet with one hand, another gently taps the rescue Doberman’s head. Rogo came to be a part of firehouse 25’s family two years ago, he and three of the men barely made it out of a burning building. Rogo and the three men stuck together, leading one another safely out of the house right before it collapsed only moments later. The men named him Rogo, meaning fire in Italian.

            As the men of Firehouse 25 approached three blocks away from the burning building, all that could be seen was black smoke. They knew it was bad. The smell of burnt metal and wood filled every man women and child’s nostrils. They reached the home to find a mother on the lawn shrieking and screaming her two children and beloved family dog were stuck inside. The men split into three groups. One attended to the fire from inside, one from outside and one went on the hunt for the children and dog. As soon as they opened the door, they could hear the screams of terrified children, if you ask them today, some can still hear the sound. They followed the sound, watching for debris falling all around them.

            Two children lay in beds the back bedroom. They screamed and shrieked, terrified for their lives. The men were close, with every step they took; another piece of debris would fall. They would move it out of the way and step over it. Their man goal was the children. The closer they approached to the bedroom, the loader the screams and the more intense the fire. They were running out of time. They were so close, but so far away. They only had a few more steps and one door to break down.

            They reached the door and with all his might, Warren kicked the door in. The children, stunned barely moved. They just lay there; shaking. Two men picked up the small shaking children and covered their face and brought them to safety, while the other two, looked for Clann, the family’s mixed breed dog. The men on the outside could hear a faint whine he was in the basement. The two men left made the rush to the basement. All the men were out of the house except Warren and Casey. They had to get the families dog. The two boys kept yelling, “Where’s Clann?” repeatedly. The voice of two small children yelling for their best friend, their love and their protector rang in the men’s ears.

            They got the call, the house was falling, and the roof and top floor were coming crashing down. The officers on the outside could see the house beginning to shatter and fall to the ground. Warren and Casey had to get out or just like the house, they were going to burn to the ground. They made a quick call. They called and called Clann didn’t come. They were running out of time. One last time, they yelled “Clann, come on boy, we gotta go” he didn’t move. He was terrified. On the outside, you could hear the cries of two young boys who had just realized their dog wasn’t coming out. He was gone.

            The two men, ran for the front door as they swung it open and ran out, the house came crumbling down. The group of twelve men and the boy’s mother surrounded them. They didn’t want the boys to see. Clann burned right there with the house. He was gone. The boys ran up to the house and just sat and cried. They stared at the last place they saw him. The boy’s mother walked up to Casey and Warren who held their heads low, because to them, they failed. Clann was part of the family and they failed to reach him. She told him “You tried. You called and called. Most importantly, you brought me my boys that means more than anything does. Thank you”

The men hugged her and she turned to attend to two terrified, shocked and brokenhearted eight-year-old twin boys.

            The ride home from this fire was one of the quietest yet, especially for Warren and Casey. They arrived back took their gear off and were greeted by their beloved, their best friend, their protector. The men looked Rogo and knelt down to him. He gave each man a kiss. They thanked everything that their boy was here. They felt sorrow and guilt for not being able to rescue Clann. They would beat themselves up for that for a long time.