Chapter 3: The Line Karen Wouldn’t Cross
Linda was placed safely with the medical crew.
Emily rushed toward her mother.
Karen lowered her phone.
For the first time since the fire began, she stopped talking.
The street had become strangely quiet around her.
The sirens were still screaming.
The fire was still roaring.
But Karen could hear Emily crying.
She watched Daniel return toward the house.
His gear was wet. Smoke covered his helmet and shoulders.
He barely paused before going back inside.
Karen looked down at her lawn.
Water had pooled along the curb.
Her flower bed was soaked.
One section of grass had been flattened by the hose.
She looked toward the burning house again.
Daniel and another firefighter disappeared into the smoke.
Then a window on the upper floor shattered.
Karen flinched.
A shower of sparks rose into the sky.
Several neighbors stepped farther back.
Karen did too.
The fire was spreading.
A police officer moved down the street, asking residents to clear the area.
Karen pointed toward her lawn.
“Can you tell them to keep the equipment off my property?”
The officer looked at her.
“There’s an active structure fire.”
“I understand that.”
“Then you understand why they need access.”
Karen shook her head.
“I understand that my property is being damaged.”
The officer did not argue.
He simply told her to remain behind the marked boundary.
That answer irritated her.
But then another development stopped her.
A gust of wind pushed smoke directly toward Karen’s house.
For the first time, she looked at her own home differently.
Her windows reflected the orange glow.
Her front door was only a few yards from the hose line.
The fire next door suddenly felt much closer.
She stepped backward.
Daniel emerged from the smoke.
“Fire is extending into the attic,” he called to the crew.
More hose was pulled forward.
Karen watched the firefighters work.
No one was paying attention to the grass.
No one was trying to disrespect her property.
They were trying to keep the fire from reaching the next houses.
Including hers.
She swallowed hard.
Then her phone rang.
It was her daughter, Melissa.
“Mom, I saw the fire online. Are you okay?”
Karen looked at the wet lawn.
“I’m fine.”
“Is the house safe?”
Karen glanced toward the firefighters.
“I think so.”
Melissa was quiet for a moment.
Then she asked, “What about the people next door?”
Karen looked at Emily.
“I don’t know.”
She ended the call.
The answer bothered her.
She had spent nearly twenty minutes worrying about grass.
But she still didn’t know whether the woman who lived next door would survive.
Then Daniel walked toward her.
His expression was serious.
“Ma’am, we may need to move people from this side of the street.”
Karen looked at her house.
“Move them where?”
Daniel pointed toward the intersection.
“Somewhere away from the fire.”
Karen suddenly realized the situation was no longer about a hose.
Her own home might have to be evacuated.
