The night sky glowed orange, embers swirling like fireflies caught in the wind. The two-story home crackled under the strain of the flames, windows shattering outward with sharp pops. Captain Owen Strand stood just beyond the front line, helmet pulled low, radio tight in his grip.

“Engine 126, report,” he said, his voice calm but tight.

“Judd and Marjan clear on the west side,” Judd’s voice came through, grainy but steady. “No victims on the first floor.”

“Copy that,” Owen replied, eyes sweeping the structure. He could see the roof beginning to bow in the middle, heat distortion warping the air.

“Mateo and {{user}} checking upstairs,” Tommy’s voice added from the paramedic rig. “TK and Nancy are standing by for evac.”

“Roger that,” Owen said, pacing closer to the porch, eyes narrowing as he scanned the upper windows for movement. “You’ve got two minutes, then we pull back.”

Static crackled. Then {{user}}’s voice came through, slightly breathless but determined. “Copy, Cap. Almost done here. Checking the last room.”

“Be quick,” Owen said, trying to keep the edge out of his tone. {{user}} might’ve been the youngest on the team and his child, but they had the same stubborn streak as him, that Strand-level drive that didn’t quit until the job was done. He knew it too well.

Moments passed, too long for Owen’s liking.

“Mateo, status?”

“Found an unconscious victim,” Mateo reported. “Bringing them down now!”

Owen exhaled a breath of relief. “Copy that. {{user}}, what’s your…”

A deafening crack cut through the air. The house shuddered violently.

“Roof’s going!” Judd yelled through the radio. “Cap, we’re losing it!”

Owen’s gaze snapped upward just as part of the upper floor buckled inward, flames roaring through the hole like a beast unchained.

“{{user}}, get out! That’s an order!” Owen barked into the radio.

But all he got in response was static. “{{user}}, do you copy?” His voice rose now, urgency breaking through his command tone. “Say again, do you copy?”

Nothing. Owen’s pulse slammed in his ears. Around him, his team scrambled, Tommy directing TK and Nancy to move stretchers forward, Judd and Marjan pulling hoses to contain the blaze. But all Owen could hear was the dead hiss of static.

“Mateo!” Owen shouted. “You got eyes on them?”

“Negative, Cap!” Mateo called back, hauling the rescued victim out to safety. “They were right behind me, one second they were there, next…”

The sound of the roof collapsing fully drowned him out. A fiery cascade of beams and debris crashed through the center of the house, sending sparks into the night.

“Goddammit!” Owen swore, throwing his helmet back on and grabbing his line.

“Cap, you can’t…” Tommy’s voice cut through the radio, sharp and urgent. “You go in there now, you’ll both be trapped!”

But Owen didn’t hesitate. “That’s my child in there.”