'...Police and fire officials are warning residents and travelers to stay away from the midtown area of the borough of Manehattan due to the traffic congestion as a result of the street closures. Mayor Pomade is reportedly at the scene, along with MFD Chief of Department Starfire Storm, and Police Commissioner Ironside. Princess Celestia is reportedly being kept up to date with the ongoing situation. From midtown for WMTN news, I'm Camera Obscura.'
Rosebush Roulade watched the news and sipped at a cup of herbal tea with the customary anxiety of the partner and family of every firepony. Every time there was a report of a fire or emergency that was newsworthy, nerves set in among even the most battle-hardened spouse or parent, with that tiny glimmer of a possibility at the back of the mind that their loved one might fall victim to some structural collapse, a backdraft, an accident responding to the scene, or any number of other possible scenarios. It was an understandable worry, though not a particularly healthy one, as fires and other incidents were happening all day every day in Manehattan, and it would not be good for mental health to worry constantly about things beyond their control. But Rosebush had learned to live with the low-level anxiety, and as long as she didn't think about it, she was fine. She knew Dawn was well trained and had experienced ponies in his company and in his firehouse, including his own brother, who must know what he was doing, as she had seen him making a daring snatch of a young foal on tv during the recent hurricane. She knew that Dawn was dedicated, focused, brave. She knew he would be fine. And yet...
'That was Camera Obscura reporting live from the scene. To bring you up to speed if you're just joining us, a major incident has been declared this evening in midtown Manehattan, after a reported chemical leak in the subway at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The terminal and station have been shut down, along with Celestia Square station. We currently have no word from emergency officials as to the cause of the chemical leak, but eyewitness reports indicate that both the police bomb squad and personnel from the Royal Guard's Domestic Security Division are at the scene, fueling speculation that this may be a terror-related incident. Reports on any casualties are scarce at the moment, but it is believed that at least some victims have already been admitted to area hospitals. We have had no official confirmation from the MFD, but WMTN News understands that at least three fireponies have been taken to hospital as a result of this unfolding emergency. We have no word on their condition.'
Rosebush tightened her grip on her teacup. There were thousands of fireponies in the department. It could be anypony. But Dawn's firehouse was close to the bus terminal, very close, perhaps the closest one or perhaps not, she wasn't sure. She couldn't dwell on it. She drained her tea and went to start preparing a meal for when Dawn got home at the end of his shift in a few hours. That was the best thing to do- occupy one's mind with something else, preferably something routine, and she always cooked. This was her routine, and this was the perfect way to distract herself.
Then the phone rang.
'Progress report for your 10-60 4th Alarm at Box 7163, the A/C/E subway line at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue. Car 3, Chief of Department Starfire Storm, reports she has a confirmed nerve agent release in the station. The suspected dispersal device has been packaged by Hazmat 1 and PD bomb squad and is being transported from the scene. Searches are continuing for possible additional devices. Casualties are being removed from the station and the process is ongoing. At this time we have fifteen black tags, twelve red tags, seventeen yellow tags and fifty two green tags. Car 3 requests you special call one additional Battalion Chief, one additional Rescue, and one additional Squad for relief purposes, K.'
Ember Blaze rested on the rear bumper of the Rescue rig. He was drenched in sweat, and a very welcome bottle of chilled energy drink from the RAC- Recuperation & Care- vehicle was helping to cool him off and replenish his electrolytes, drained by just thirty minutes' work in the subway ensconced in the Hazmat suit. Grey Spike and Flagstaff were with him, cooling off after their exertions. Their task had been accomplished successfully. They hadn't gone in to pull ponies to safety, that had been the work of other companies. They had gone in to make sure the source of the nerve agent could be found, identified, mitigated, and removed, and that was exactly what had happened. The bomb squad had taken the canister, sealed in an airtight container, away to be transported by ground to the laboratory out in Princess. They had a specialist trailer, like a large metal globe, a pressure vessel which was designed to contain the force of an explosion, allowing the police to move unexploded bombs and suspicious devices safely to their weapons range up in The Ponyx where they would be safely detonated. While the nerve agent device was already inside an airtight container, just to be absolutely safe it was bundled straight into the bomb containment vessel and whisked away, escorted by police motorbike outriders.
From where he sat, Blaze could see the lifeless bodies being carried to the surface by the Hazmat teams. Enough time had passed since the gas had been released that this was no longer a rescue, but a recovery. Without rapid treatment with an antidote kit, there was no chance for those exposed to the full force of the nerve agent and receiving a large dose. The effects on their nervous system were too rapid to be reversed after so long.
Chief Firebrand and an EMS Captain approached the Rescue crew as they rested. 'Blaze?' Firebrand spoke.
'Yes, Chief?' Blaze looked up, taking a swig of energy drink.
'You need to go with the Captain,' Firebrand said, nodding in the direction of the mare wearing the orange turnout gear of the department's EMS division. 'Your brother is in the hospital.'
While the other units continued to tackle the problems of evacuation, search and recovery below ground, Ember Blaze rode north in the back seat of Chief Firebrand's SUV. 8th Avenue was almost totally clear north of the incident due to the shutdown, with only a few cars and trucks trickling in from side streets, allowing them to make the journey up to Meadowbrook Memorial in less than two minutes. Blaze had been trying to use the Chief's department cellphone to contact Rosebush Roulade and let her know about her fiancee, but there was no reply. Perhaps she had already been called by the department and was on her way to the hospital?
Blaze didn't know yet, nor did he know the condition of his brother. Firebrand had relayed the latest information from the hospital to him, but it didn't tell him much other than that Dawn was alive and conscious. At least that was good news. Blaze was not a doctor or a neuroscientist, but he knew enough about nerve agents thanks to his Hazmat and WMD training that being conscious meant that Dawn most likely hadn't received a huge dose. That didn't necessarily mean it wouldn't prove fatal, but the signs seemed to be there that he wasn't in a critical condition.
Firebrand's driver pulled into the driveway of the emergency department at Meadowbrook, and Blaze and the Chief climbed out. Firebrand had to report to the hospital as well; the injured fireponies were his responsibility as he was the Battalion commander. He had been relieved of his operational duties as the entry control chief at the chemical incident by the Safety Battalion, a specially trained Chief officer whose sole duty was to ensure that operations at major fires or incidents were carried out in the safest possible way for the fireponies at the scene, and to advise the incident commander of any potential dangers- weak rooftops, leaning cornices, electrical or gas conditions and suchlike. He was the ideal officer to take over the responsibility of tracking fireponies and victims in and out of the deadly atmosphere of the contaminated subway station, freeing Firebrand to attend to his ponies.
Blaze and his Chief headed into the emergency room. It was busy; as well as the three fireponies, at least a dozen of the civilian patients from the nerve gas attack had been brought in after prompt decontamination by an engine company and low-pressure water from a hose. It wasn't a comprehensive job such as that given to Blaze when he emerged from the subway- time was a precious resource, that was available to clean his suit, but not to clear every last bit of contamination from a victim who needed immediate medical care. It was a dangerous balance that had to be struck, because an inefficient job could expose the doctors and nurses at the hospital to the same contamination, but waiting for a complete and comprehensive decon procedure with bleach and other chemicals would likely delay life-saving care long enough that those victims rescued alive from the subway would be dead before they reached the hospital.
A doctor approached them as they entered. 'Chief? You must be here for your boys.'
'How are they, doc?' Firebrand questioned. 'What can you tell us?'
'They're all stable,' the doctor replied. 'They had the antidote kits administered at the scene, and that stopped them deteriorating too far. Most likely saved their lives. Definite nerve agent exposure, there's no doubt of that. Better commend whoever it was that administered the kits, Chief. It would have been much worse if they hadn't acted when they did.'
Firebrand nodded. 'Copy that, doc. Are you in contact with EMS?'
'We're tied in to the citywide relay,' the doctor confirmed. 'We're getting constant updates from the scene on the number of patients. We've got fifteen so far, more coming. They're splitting them between us and Manehattan University Hospital for the most part. We can handle the numbers they're reporting at the moment.'
'Alright, that's good,' Firebrand nodded. 'Now what about the families? Have you been able to contact them?'
'Yes, they've all been contacted,' the doctor assured him. 'We were able to direct the relatives to come here, but we asked only one relative for each victim due to the number of casualties we're taking in. We don't want to overrun the emergency room with family members when we're still trying to treat the victims.'
'Right. You already contacted somepony for Ember Dawn?' Firebrand asked, getting another nod from the doctor.
'We called his fiancee, she's on her way here,' he explained.
'Can you make an exception in this one case?' Firebrand questioned. 'This is Ember Blaze, his brother.' He nodded in the direction of Blaze. The doctor nodded.
'We'll make an exception, yeah. Is the rest of their company coming in?'
'They're on their way too,' Firebrand replied. 'There's only two of them. Actually they're the ones who administered the antidote kits. They won't bother you. They'll stay out of the way.'
'Got it. Thanks, Chief. I'd better get back to work,' the doctor responded, as an ambulance pulled into the driveway to the emergency department, ready to disgorge another patient. A trauma team hurried out of the entrance to meet them.
'Just sit over there for now, Chief,' the doctor gestured. 'We'll let you know when we have more information or when you can see them.' The ambulance pulled up and the driver jumped down, hurrying to the back doors with the trauma team, opening them up. The orderlies and the driver took hold of the stretcher, sliding it down the ramp to the ground while the other paramedic continued to pump the chest of a young stallion. A nurse applied a bag-valve mask and began to pump oxygen as they hurried the victim inside. There was a chance of saving his life, of course, but finding himself at a point where CPR was needed after exposure to a nerve agent did not give him very good odds of beating the grim reaper's beckoning scythe. The doctor headed back inside to tend to his patients, and Firebrand turned to Blaze.
'Let's just sit and wait,' the Chief spoke. 'Sounds like you're brother is gonna be fine, the others too. They're in good hooves, that's for sure. Meadowbrook is one of the best hospitals in the city
'I hope you're right, Chief,' Blaze responded, taking a seat in the corner of the waiting area. More patients were being wheeled in, some with CPR being administered, others sitting up on the stretcher and talking, but there was only one patient that Blaze had on his mind at that precise moment. There was concern for Coppertop and Striker too, of course. Any time a fellow firepony went down at an incident, every other firepony worried until they knew their injuries were not life threatening. But they had all been described as stable by the doctor, and Blaze could only think of his brother, only on the job for a few months, and now in the hospital, not with burns, but with nerve gas poisoning.
Dark Flash and Deep Blue arrived a few minutes later, having hitched a ride on the 3rd Division transport van. Their engine was still at the scene; Dawn and the others had come into contact with it after leaving the subway, and it had to remain at 42nd Street until it could be hitched onto a tow truck and taken away to the fleet repair depot for a thorough decontamination, just in case there were any traces of the nerve agent left behind by the hooves of the contaminated fireponies. Coppertop, for instance, had certainly touched the radio mouthpiece to send his report to the dispatcher, and who knew what other nooks and crannies of the rig might still harbour deadly chemicals. Deep Blue and Dark Flash had also had to undergo decontamination before being released from the scene as they had treated the rest of their crew and come into close contact with them.
Firebrand filled them in on the status of their colleagues, and they sat to await further news. Rosebush Roulade arrived a little after, and Blaze quickly got up and approached her as he saw her frantically looking around for a doctor or nurse to speak with. She put a hoof to her chest when she saw him, and quickly trotted over.
'The doctor said he's stable,' Blaze began with the good news to assuage Rosebush's obvious fears, and she quickly pulled her fiancee's brother into a hug.
'Oh, thank Celestia...' she sighed. 'I was watching the news...they said fireponies were hurt but I had no idea...I mean, not officially, until the phone rang. Are you alright?'
'I'm fine,' Blaze replied, feeling no need to burden her with the knowledge that he had been down into the subway and seen the bloodless slaughterhouse of the A/C/E Line platforms. No doubt the casualty figures would be emblazoned on the front page of every newspaper tomorrow morning, not just across the city but all of Equestria. Terror Strikes Manehattan! Celestia Vows Swift Justice For Perpetrators! Royal Guard Face Tough Questions- Why Weren't We Prepared?
Rosebush sat with the others who made room for her. The mother of Striker and Coppertop's wife arrived and sat with them as well, waiting for more updates, but the doctors were busy with the flow of nerve gas patients. Normally when a firepony was injured at a job, the Chief of Department or the Commissioner would show up at the hospital, but they were both tied up with the unfolding situation. Instead the First Deputy Commissioner, a political appointment like the Commissioner himself, arrived with her entourage to offer the usual platitudes and words of comfort to the families. It was Doctor Morpheus, however, who provided them with the words they actually wanted to hear when he trotted out of the trauma area.
'All three of our firepony patients are stable and conscious. They're all in good shape and are recovering well. We'll have to keep them in overnight for observations, but I think they should all be able to go home in a day or two. You'll be able to see them later on tonight once things have calmed down here and we're able to move them to a ward.' There were looks of relief on the faces of the family members. Morpheus turned to Deep Blue and Dark Flash. 'The Chief here says it was you two who administered the antidote kits so promptly. I'd say you almost certainly saved all three of their lives by doing so so quickly. Well done.'
That prompted another outpouring of emotion from the families, who turned their thanks from the doctors to the two members of Engine 25 who had acted to aid their comrades with such haste. Blaze took a step back to stand with Firebrand and leave them to their well-earned praise. Rosebush was here and would be allowed in to see Dawn soon enough, but with his brother out of danger, Blaze now had a desire to put himself back into it.
'Chief?' he turned to Firebrand. 'Request permission to return to the scene.'