The Firefighters' Hero
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This Book Is About You!
Zachary Richardson
Age 11
With Love From,
Mom
2004
Page 3
Zachary Richardson was playing with Michael, Sean and Andrew at a neighborhood park in Austin. It was a sunny spring day, a great day to play outside. There was a nice breeze blowing. Lately, the weather had been cloudy and rainy, so it was nice to play in the fresh air.
Page 4
Zachary chased a ball that had rolled all the way down the slope to the playground. Zachary spotted the ball and picked it up. As he climbed back up the slope, Zachary smelled something in the air. What was it? "Smells like smoke," thought Zachary. He looked over toward the street and noticed a house with clouds of black smoke rolling up from the roof. He couldn't believe it. The street was quiet. There weren't any cars or people to be seen. Zachary thought quickly about what to do. "I have to get to a phone!"
Page 5
Luckily, Zachary remembered there was a phone booth in the park. He waved to Michael, Sean and Andrew to follow him. Zachary ran at full speed to the phone booth and dialed "911." Michael, Sean and Andrew came running up just as the emergency dispatcher answered the call. "Is this an emergency?" said the voice. "Yes," said Zachary, still catching his breath. "This is Zachary Richardson. There's a house on fire! It's on the same street that the Austin park is on. I don't know the address. It's the brown two-story house on the corner." "We have traced your location," said the dispatcher. "Please stay in the park and don't go near the house."
Page 6
They ran back across the park. Seeing smoke billowing from the house's roof, they began to hear the wail of sirens. They could feel the tension and the excitement as the usually quiet street quickly became a blur of activity. Soon the fire truck came roaring down the street. Zachary noticed it said, "Austin Fire Department, Engine No. 2" on the door. The siren was almost deafening! Pulling up just behind the fire truck there was an emergency rescue truck, followed by the fire chief's car. More sirens! By now, flames could be seen leaping from the roof.
Page 7
The driver jumped down from the fire truck and two firefighters helped him connect a hose to the fire hydrant across the street. As they turned the valve on the hydrant, Zachary could see the hose quickly swell as the water pushed through it. Several firefighters picked up another hose with a big nozzle on it and they carried it toward the house. When the driver turned on the pump, the firefighters pointed the nozzle up high so the powerful stream of water could reach the awful flames inside the house.
Page 8
Using a big axe, another group of firefighters broke open the front door of the house and went in to search for people. They wore helmets with visors and heavy coats and pants. Walkie-talkies were swinging from their sides. It was hard for Zachary to see through all the smoke, but he was just able to see the firefighters come back through the door after searching the house. Seeing only the firefighters, Zachary told Michael, Sean and Andrew, "There must have been no one home. Thank goodness for that."
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What Zachary had not seen was something moving under the coat of one of the firefighters. When they came closer, Zachary saw a black nose pushing its way out of the coat. Then he saw a tiny, trembling head emerge from the coat. It was a puppy! They had saved a puppy from the burning house!
Page 10
The fire chief walked across the street to where the kids were standing. He was carrying the puppy. "Are you Zachary Richardson?" asked the chief? "Yes, sir," Zachary told him. "Well, thanks to your quick thinking and fast action, we were able to save the house and the houses around it. This breeze would have surely spread the fire out of control if we had gotten here any later." Zachary told the chief, "I'm just glad no one was hurt." He introduced Michael, Sean and Andrew to the chief. The chief held the puppy out to Zachary. "This little puppy is very grateful to you, too." The puppy licked Zachary all over.
Page 11
Then the chief invited them to come and visit the fire station on Saturday. "I will give you a personal tour."
It seemed to Zachary that Saturday would never come. Finally it was Saturday morning. When they arrived at the fire station, the fire chief was waiting for them. "Hello, Zachary. Hi, Michael, Sean and Andrew," said the chief as he shook their hands. "Now let's have our tour."
Page 12
The chief opened the door of Engine No. 2, the same one they had seen in action at the fire. Zachary climbed up into the driver's seat. Michael, Sean and Andrew got in, too. The chief pointed to a switch and asked Zachary to turn on the siren. The siren wailed. Then Zachary got to turn on the flashing lights. There was a dazzling display of the truck's emergency warning lights.
Page 13
Next they all got to try on some of the firefighters' clothing. It was all so big and heavy. Zachary wondered how the firefighters could even walk with all of this stuff.
Page 14
The chief told Zachary, "We need to check the fire engine to be sure that all of our equipment is working properly. We have to be ready every time there is an emergency. Come on up." They all got back into the truck and the driver drove the fire truck into the parking lot. Zachary watched with Michael, Sean and Andrew as the hoses were connected. Zachary still had on the firefighter's heavy suit. The chief put Zachary at the front of the big hose, just behind the nozzle. Two more firefighters lined up behind Zachary.
Page 15
The driver pushed some buttons and the powerful pump came to life. One of the firefighters told Zachary to grip the hose tightly and turn on the water. Zachary got a firm grip and turned the handle on the nozzle. A stream of water gushed out of the hose. The water shot up in a big arc and came crashing down a long way from where Zachary was standing. Zachary saw that firefighters had to be very strong just to hold onto the hose.
Page 16
Back inside, the chief showed them around the fire station. They saw where the firefighters slept. They saw the exercise room where the firefighters lifted weights and did exercises to keep them strong and healthy. Zachary noticed that they even had their own kitchen.
Page 17
When the chief had finished giving the tour, he said, "Thanks again, Zachary, for being responsible and calling in the fire so quickly. I have a special gift for you as our way of saying thanks." The Chief presented Zachary with an official Austin Fire Department firefighter's hat. Zachary loved it so much that he wore it home.
Page 18
It had been a special day for Zachary Richardson. Seeing a fire truck race down the street outside his window Zachary thought, "Maybe I'll be a real firefighter someday."
