Spontaneous Combustion

Internal Memo: Jefferson Avenue Firehouse, Courage Bay

All members of Squad 1 are requested to report for an informal debriefing in my office tomorrow morning before shift change. Due to the suspicion of arson in the warehouse fires at State and 23rd, Courage Bay’s finest have requested we provide them with further details regarding the first and second call-outs. The final report will be approved by the chief when he returns to work. Anyone missing this meeting had better have a damned good excuse.

On a lighter note, congratulations to our celebrity truckie Shannon O’Shea. The calls are still coming in to the station regarding her televised rescue of the injured Lab from the warehouse. O’Shea’s also being featured in an article for a women’s mag. (Take note, guys: there’ll be no living with her from now on.)

One final notice. I’ve been informed that the vacant position in our unit has been filled. John Forrester is an experienced firefighter from New York and will make a great contribution to our team. Squad members are expected to make him feel welcome.

BOBBY HUTCHINSON

is a multitalented woman who was born in a small town in the interior of British Columbia. Though she is now the successful author of more than thirty-five novels, her past includes stints as a retailer, a seamstress and a day-care worker. Twice married, she now lives alone and is the devoted mother of three and grandmother of four. She runs, swims, does yoga, meditates and likes this quote by Dolly Parton: “Decide who you are, and then do it on purpose.”

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

Research is always a fascinating part of the writing process. For Code Red I needed to know about firefighting, which meant interviewing my son, Dan, a seasoned firefighter with the Vancouver Fire Department. Having him share tender and funny incidents as well as more tragic moments made my job easier—but as his mother, the stories he told also struck terror in my heart. I understood as never before exactly what his job entailed—the horrific dangers, the profound compassion and the simple, boundless bravery in the hearts of all those who choose to serve humanity during crisis situations.

As always, writing this book was a delight, but as usual I learned from the characters I was creating. As firefighters, they had certain necessary characteristics—bravery, certainly, a sense of camaraderie and humor. But most of all they shared a single admirable trait: they just never quit. Even in extreme circumstances, when hope seemed extinguished, they went right on trying. I hope I was able to capture that nobility. I hope I’ll be able to incorporate it in some measure in my own life.

Thank you, and much love,

Bobby

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE WAREHOUSE FIRE in Courage Bay occurred on a Tuesday afternoon in late August. It was seventy-eight degrees, and sunny, with no clouds in the blue California sky.

Just before the call came, Shannon O’Shea was sweating up a storm, but not from basking in the sun. She was flat on her back, using the bench press machine in the workout room at the Jefferson Avenue Firehouse. She’d recently upped the weights from 140 to 150, and doing ten reps three times was challenging her to the limit when the alarm, like an insistent doorbell, resounded through the hall.

The dispatcher’s voice came on. “Engine One, Rescue One, Ladder One. First alarm to warehouse fire, State Street and Twenty-third.” There was a ten-second break, and then the alarm was repeated.

Shannon hurried out to the bay. She pulled her turnout gear over her sweat clothes and climbed on the truck with the rest of her crew, heart pumping and adrenaline soaring. She’d completed her probationary year eighteen months ago, but the feeling she’d had when she’d gone to her very first fire was the same one she had now—a little apprehensive, more than a little pumped, eager to do her job.

Fire was the enemy, speed was of the essence and small mistakes could be deadly. As a firefighter, those facts ruled her working life.

The sounds were familiar as the vehicle pulled out of Bay One and gained speed. There was the wail of the siren, the honk of the air horn at intersections and the low-keyed comments of the men. Louie Chapa, a five-year veteran, was behind the wheel, and as he neared their location, Shannon could see black smoke coming from the roof of a dilapidated warehouse.

While some of the crew began to stretch a line from the pumper, Shannon took a long and careful look at the building, as she’d been taught at the academy. Size up the building, size up the construction, size up the means of escape.

This one was big and rambling, two stories, a combination of wood and brick, very few windows. From where the truck was parked, she could see only one set of double doors. There must be a larger loading bay at the side or back.