Post by sportygirl200 on Apr 7, 2014 13:45:08 GMT -5
This story is my first posting on this site
The lads are caught in hotel fire several lives on the line and one life will be changed forever
I give credit to fellow user Kaylor for all the help given for this story
Please read and review suggestions are welcome
Flashover After it was all over, he would always say it was the smell of smoke that first woke him up. A faint smell wafts into his room from the hallway, the acrid scent lightly burning his nostrils. Keith sits straight up in the bed and takes a deeper breath. He definitely smells smoke, and it’s getting stronger. He clambers out of bed and scrambles around to get dressed. Immediately, he hears the fire alarm going off. Keith makes his way to the door, and tests it with the back of his hand before opening it. The last thing he wants is to encounter a fire burst. The door feels very slightly warm, but the handle is still cool to the touch. Gingerly, Keith opens the door, prepared to slam it shut again the moment he sees flames or hears the fire crackle. But neither happens so he crawls out of the room and glances around. The fire is raging down the hall in his direction, so Keith takes off the opposite way, beating on all the doors he passes. Keith reaches the stairwell door, and pauses briefly to check the door. He doesn’t feel any heat or see in smoke emanating from the door so he carefully opens it and starts down the stairs. He can hear the crackling of the flames as they reach the door and start to burn in the stairwell. Keith picks up the pace, his sole concern get out alive. The smoke becomes chokingly strong in the closed environment of the stairwell. Keith starts coughing from the smoke, but he knows he can’t stop. Suddenly the stairs above him collapse. The fire encircles Keith, the embers singeing his clothing. Keith tries to battle his way through the fire, but the flames and heat are too intense. He sinks to his knees, choking on the smoke and feeling the pain from the fire. He knows that he’s going to die here. Keith starts saying a final prayer, one of comfort for his friends and family. “Oi lad!” Someone shouts nearby. Keith hears the voice and turns toward it. A hand stretches out above the flames. Keith grabs it and is pull up and over the fire. Arms wrap themselves around him, lifting him up and carrying him down the rest of the stairs. The next thing Keith knows, he is outside laid out on a stretcher and someone is lightly patting him with a blanket. An oxygen mask is slipped over his face. Keith glances around. George stands off to the side, a look of worry and concern creasing his brow. Ryan and Neil both sit on the curb, being checked over by paramedics. But Keith doesn’t see Emmet or Colm. He motions with his hand, and George slowly approaches. “George…” Keith whispers, taking the oxygen mask off. “Where are Emmet and Colm?” “I don’t know lad. They haven’t come out. The firefighters are looking for them now.” George replies. Keith sits bolt upright, ignoring the searing pain the movement sends through him. “You mean they’re still inside?” he asks. “We honestly don’t know.” Keith jumps off the stretcher. The paramedics try to restrain him. But Keith ignores them. He takes off, running back toward the hotel. He hears George call out to him, begging him to come back. Ryan and Neil both look up and shout as he runs past. Keith reaches the hotel, and battles his way inside. In the lobby, he pauses for moment. Where would they be? Keith asks himself. Normally the answer would be the gym. But all of the lads know that Colm and Emmet go to the gym every morning. They would have told the firemen and the firemen would have checked there. So that means that the lads aren’t in the gym. So where are they? It dawns on Keith. The one place no one would have thought to look. The theatre! The lads wanted to do a Celtic Comet show and they probably took advantage of the hotel’s small theatre to rehearse! Keith darts off toward the theatre. His lungs burn from the smoke and the heat, but he refuses to slow down. He finally reaches the door to the theatre. He takes a moment to check and make sure the fire hasn’t spread inside by checking the door for heat. The door feels cool to the touch so he cautiously opens it. Smoke hangs low in the room, creating a dense haze. “Colm! Emmet! Ya in here lads?” Keith calls out. He hears coughing coming from the back of the room, near the stage. Keeping his left hand on the wall, Keith makes his way around the room toward the stage. Once there, he gently climbs up the steps and starts searching for the lads. “Colm? Emmet? Can ya hear me?” he calls out. The smoke in the room makes it nearly impossible to see beyond a few inches. A hand on his shoulder causes Keith to jump. He turns to find Colm standing beside him, supporting Emmet. “Keith?” Colm asks. “Aye lad! Are ya okay?” Keith responds. “I’m… I’m okay.” Colm says coughing. “Emmet’s passed out from the smoke though.” “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. If ya can carry Emmet as ya have him now, then take your other hand and grab a fistful of me shirt. I’ll lead the way back to the door and outside where the others are. Okay? Can ya do that?” “Aye, Keith.” Colm says. He takes a moment to position Emmet in a better grip, then grabs the back of Keith’s shirt. Keith bites back a scream as the material is pulled away from his burned back. He eases his way over to the wall and places his right hand on the wall. Keith leads the way back to the door of the theatre. Once they reach the door, Keith says a quick prayer before checking to see if the fire is raging on the other side of the door. If it is, he doesn’t know what they are going to do. Luckily, the door is still cool to the touch, so Keith eases it open and leads Colm and Emmet back to the front of the hotel. As they step outside, paramedics swarm all three of them. Colm is rushed off to one ambulance where the paramedics immediately place an oxygen mask on him. Emmet’s placed in a second ambulance where the paramedics start assessing him. To Keith’s relief Emmet begins to stir and tries to sit up. He is also given an oxygen mask and his ambulance takes off in a flurry of lights and sirens. Colm is released to visit with George, Ryan and Neil. Keith realizes that his friends are all okay. And suddenly, he feels completely drained. His vision grows black and he feels himself slump toward the ground. And from very far away, he feels someone grab him and hears a very familiar voice shout. “Help! Someone please help! My friend needs help!”
******
The lads are caught in hotel fire several lives on the line and one life will be changed forever
I give credit to fellow user Kaylor for all the help given for this story
Please read and review suggestions are welcome
Flashover After it was all over, he would always say it was the smell of smoke that first woke him up. A faint smell wafts into his room from the hallway, the acrid scent lightly burning his nostrils. Keith sits straight up in the bed and takes a deeper breath. He definitely smells smoke, and it’s getting stronger. He clambers out of bed and scrambles around to get dressed. Immediately, he hears the fire alarm going off. Keith makes his way to the door, and tests it with the back of his hand before opening it. The last thing he wants is to encounter a fire burst. The door feels very slightly warm, but the handle is still cool to the touch. Gingerly, Keith opens the door, prepared to slam it shut again the moment he sees flames or hears the fire crackle. But neither happens so he crawls out of the room and glances around. The fire is raging down the hall in his direction, so Keith takes off the opposite way, beating on all the doors he passes. Keith reaches the stairwell door, and pauses briefly to check the door. He doesn’t feel any heat or see in smoke emanating from the door so he carefully opens it and starts down the stairs. He can hear the crackling of the flames as they reach the door and start to burn in the stairwell. Keith picks up the pace, his sole concern get out alive. The smoke becomes chokingly strong in the closed environment of the stairwell. Keith starts coughing from the smoke, but he knows he can’t stop. Suddenly the stairs above him collapse. The fire encircles Keith, the embers singeing his clothing. Keith tries to battle his way through the fire, but the flames and heat are too intense. He sinks to his knees, choking on the smoke and feeling the pain from the fire. He knows that he’s going to die here. Keith starts saying a final prayer, one of comfort for his friends and family. “Oi lad!” Someone shouts nearby. Keith hears the voice and turns toward it. A hand stretches out above the flames. Keith grabs it and is pull up and over the fire. Arms wrap themselves around him, lifting him up and carrying him down the rest of the stairs. The next thing Keith knows, he is outside laid out on a stretcher and someone is lightly patting him with a blanket. An oxygen mask is slipped over his face. Keith glances around. George stands off to the side, a look of worry and concern creasing his brow. Ryan and Neil both sit on the curb, being checked over by paramedics. But Keith doesn’t see Emmet or Colm. He motions with his hand, and George slowly approaches. “George…” Keith whispers, taking the oxygen mask off. “Where are Emmet and Colm?” “I don’t know lad. They haven’t come out. The firefighters are looking for them now.” George replies. Keith sits bolt upright, ignoring the searing pain the movement sends through him. “You mean they’re still inside?” he asks. “We honestly don’t know.” Keith jumps off the stretcher. The paramedics try to restrain him. But Keith ignores them. He takes off, running back toward the hotel. He hears George call out to him, begging him to come back. Ryan and Neil both look up and shout as he runs past. Keith reaches the hotel, and battles his way inside. In the lobby, he pauses for moment. Where would they be? Keith asks himself. Normally the answer would be the gym. But all of the lads know that Colm and Emmet go to the gym every morning. They would have told the firemen and the firemen would have checked there. So that means that the lads aren’t in the gym. So where are they? It dawns on Keith. The one place no one would have thought to look. The theatre! The lads wanted to do a Celtic Comet show and they probably took advantage of the hotel’s small theatre to rehearse! Keith darts off toward the theatre. His lungs burn from the smoke and the heat, but he refuses to slow down. He finally reaches the door to the theatre. He takes a moment to check and make sure the fire hasn’t spread inside by checking the door for heat. The door feels cool to the touch so he cautiously opens it. Smoke hangs low in the room, creating a dense haze. “Colm! Emmet! Ya in here lads?” Keith calls out. He hears coughing coming from the back of the room, near the stage. Keeping his left hand on the wall, Keith makes his way around the room toward the stage. Once there, he gently climbs up the steps and starts searching for the lads. “Colm? Emmet? Can ya hear me?” he calls out. The smoke in the room makes it nearly impossible to see beyond a few inches. A hand on his shoulder causes Keith to jump. He turns to find Colm standing beside him, supporting Emmet. “Keith?” Colm asks. “Aye lad! Are ya okay?” Keith responds. “I’m… I’m okay.” Colm says coughing. “Emmet’s passed out from the smoke though.” “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. If ya can carry Emmet as ya have him now, then take your other hand and grab a fistful of me shirt. I’ll lead the way back to the door and outside where the others are. Okay? Can ya do that?” “Aye, Keith.” Colm says. He takes a moment to position Emmet in a better grip, then grabs the back of Keith’s shirt. Keith bites back a scream as the material is pulled away from his burned back. He eases his way over to the wall and places his right hand on the wall. Keith leads the way back to the door of the theatre. Once they reach the door, Keith says a quick prayer before checking to see if the fire is raging on the other side of the door. If it is, he doesn’t know what they are going to do. Luckily, the door is still cool to the touch, so Keith eases it open and leads Colm and Emmet back to the front of the hotel. As they step outside, paramedics swarm all three of them. Colm is rushed off to one ambulance where the paramedics immediately place an oxygen mask on him. Emmet’s placed in a second ambulance where the paramedics start assessing him. To Keith’s relief Emmet begins to stir and tries to sit up. He is also given an oxygen mask and his ambulance takes off in a flurry of lights and sirens. Colm is released to visit with George, Ryan and Neil. Keith realizes that his friends are all okay. And suddenly, he feels completely drained. His vision grows black and he feels himself slump toward the ground. And from very far away, he feels someone grab him and hears a very familiar voice shout. “Help! Someone please help! My friend needs help!”
******