After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Chapter 167: Chapter 123: Is This A Sudden Task?!

"Shua! Dang!"

The scene was filled with the sounds of switches and rolling doors on firefighting equipment.

Figures carrying hoses, diverters, and water guns rushed into the residential staircase on the side of the building.

Xiao Haishan and Qi Xiaohui, 50 meters behind the fire truck, set up warning piles in a triangular formation, directing traffic behind them to allow for the ladder truck to occupy two lanes.

Hao Chengbin commanded Xiao Haishan to bring out the platform pads for the ladder truck, assisting in deploying its supports.

The four supports on the side of the ladder truck began to open, each bearing the weight of several tons. The driver and Qi Xiaohui placed the bulky square pads accurately under the supports to distribute the weight on the narrow support surfaces.

The main hose, 80 millimeters in diameter, had been laid all the way up to the third-floor platform.

Water outlet was achieved by connecting one end of the trunk line to a diverter, with the other end having three outlets, each able to connect to a branch hose for water distribution.

Branch hoses could be laid along the staircase, dropped from a higher floor, or a rope could be used to hoist the hose connection and pull it up the building, allowing for vertical deployment.

But once a 20-meter-long branch hose was filled with water, it weighed over a hundred pounds. If deployed vertically from a high floor, with at least three connected hoses hanging off the exterior wall, hose clamps had to be set at the windows to secure the hoses in place.

Several hundred pounds of weight could not be taken lightly; if the clamps came loose, the sliding hoses were no joke.

Not to mention whether someone would be hit if they fell, but the acceleration due to gravity multiplied by the mass would exert a terrifying drag force on the firefighter clinging to the hose above.

F=ma.

Either stand your ground without stepping back, or if you step back, the faster it falls.

If you are pulled to the edge of the window, you have no choice but to let go of the hose and let it fall.

Otherwise, you might be pulled out of the window like flying a kite, plummeting to the ground together with it.

Reconnecting that branch hose would be very difficult then.

This branch line is only for those with awesome strength; it’s also the only hose handled by the Number Two Staff who needs to be more awesome than the Number One Staff holding the water gun.

...

The entire floor echoed with the sound of heavy breathing.

Getting to the sixth floor was a twisting journey, with vastly long staircases at each level. Carrying two coils of hose up was like carrying a weighted load up ten floors.

Lightly equipped and responsible for evacuation, Song Lin approached the task with solemn gravity, as if on a pilgrimage.

He hurriedly called out to an auntie who was exiting her apartment, "Auntie, there’s a fire! Use the safety exit!"

The auntie’s face turned pale as she exclaimed in shock, "Ah? Where’s the fire? Where?"

Her cries echoed in the corridor.

Liu Jianfeng, who was downstairs resting with two coils of hose, cursed when he heard this and hurriedly ran upstairs, kicking right at Song Lin’s behind.

"Who said there’s a fire? Who told you to evacuate like that?!"

After scolding, Liu Jianfeng quickly apologized to the auntie with a smile, "Auntie, there’s no fire! We’re having an exercise! Please use the other staircase to go down; this side is wet and could be slippery!"

Relieved, the auntie patted her chest and said to the once ferocious Liu Jianfeng, "Young man, don’t hit him! I’ll go the other way, I’ll go!"

Seeing the auntie glance back at him as she walked away, worried he might hit Song Lin, Liu Jianfeng felt slightly upset.

Song Lin was also embarrassed, "Squad leader, wasn’t I in charge of evacuation?"

Liu Jianfeng gritted his teeth, "It’s an exercise! An exercise! If she falls, we take responsibility!"

No sooner had he spoken than an elderly woman emerged, trembling and unsteady, intending to go downstairs.

Song Lin quickly approached her, "Grandma! We are from the fire department! This is an exercise! Please use the other side! This side is going to have water coming out, it’ll be slippery soon!"

The old woman, however, bypassed Song Lin and headed straight for the stairs, shakily making her way down while waving her hand and muttering, "There’s no time, no time, I have to pick up my grandchild from school, if there’s a fire, I can’t deal with it..."

Song Lin didn’t know what to do and stood there, suddenly feeling his sacred task of evacuation was filled with all kinds of bizarre hindrances.

But Liu Jianfeng shouted again, "What are you looking at? Help her down! Evacuation during an exercise is about ensuring the safety of pedestrians!"

Song Lin instantly deflated and became a volunteer in the corridor.

The firefighters kept transporting hoses up and down the stairs; less than five minutes into the exercise, sweat was already showing through their combat uniforms.

...

"Huff...pant...huff...pant..."

Reaching the fifth floor, Fang Huai, wearing an empty-call mask, felt the world go quiet except for his own breathing.

And his strong heartbeat. freёwebnovel.com

He treated the exercise with utmost seriousness, though no one saw him, he climbed the stairs with a crouched posture.

According to the exercise scenario, the fifth and sixth floors should now be filled with thick smoke, with visibility near zero from a standing position.

He turned on his headlamp and saw his comrades on the fifth floor laying out hoses, while the rescue team was breaching a door. Fang Huai suddenly remembered something.

There was a step missing in the earlier setup.

Fire Investigation reporting. freewebnovёl.ƈom

Even though the Instructor had already clearly announced the fire scenario, since it was an exercise, it was best to go through the procedure.

Fang Huai’s former squadron had been criticized for missing it.

And the two-way radio was too quiet. Since climbing up, there hadn’t been a single sound.

The abruptness of today’s exercise was something Fang Huai had never seen in his previous life – no notification, no rehearsal, no preparation time, like responding to a real alarm. He guessed the squadron’s commanders must be panicked.

Indeed, the radio soon transmitted an inquiry in Cao Yi’s remedial tone:

"Fire Investigation Group upstairs, report the situation on the scene."

There was a long silence.

Everyone was a bit confused. Who should report? How to report?