Break the Rules (The Flanagan Sisters Book 1) (21 page)

“It’s
noisy as hell here. All I can hear is knocking.”

The
whole damn unit was creaking and groaning and the roar of the fire was above it
all. Bridget waited impatiently, straining to hear any message over the radio.
She paced up and down. The tenders’ engines purred and the plant still hummed.

“Control
room, when is this plant going to be down?” she asked.

“We’re
under orders to only do the emergency shutdown on that unit,”
came
the reply. “The others are doing a controlled
shutdown.”

White
hot anger seared through Bridget. “Who the hell ordered that?”

“Kevin.”

She
knew he was listening in to the radio feed. “Kevin, there are men’s lives at
risk here.
ESD the whole damn plant.
It looks like a
goddamned warzone out here. A pipeline could burst at any moment.”

“You’re
not qualified to make that judgment.” Kevin snarled.

“Like
hell I’m not. I’m looking into a wall of flames and the metal is groaning in
protest. You don’t shut down this plant and you could kill all my team and the
firemen who have come to help, not to mention
cause
an
explosion the whole city will feel.”

Bridget
took a breath and directed her next comment to the control panel technician.
“Do an emergency shutdown, Tim.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You
order that and your job is gone, Bridget,” Kevin spat out. “You’re not in
charge.”

A calm
settled over her. “Check your emergency response procedure, Kevin,” she said, still
watching her team. “I’m in charge until the emergency is over, and it
ain’t
over.”

“Plant
shutting down,” Tim said.

One
of the other control panel technicians said, “Copy that. We’ve hit the ESD
too.”

Bridget
breathed a sigh of relief. The alky unit nearby creaked and groaned but that
was normal for an emergency shutdown.

“Guys,
how’s it going with that beam?” she asked.

“It’s
too heavy, Bridget. We’re going to need a crane.”

“Nothing
in the area?” she asked.

“It’s
damaged.”

“Who’s
got their crane license?”

One
of the guys on the fire hose said, “I do.”

She
walked in and took the hose from him, being careful to keep it pointed at the
flames. “Someone
tell
me where the nearest crane is to
the hut,” she called over the radio. After a moment the reply came.
“On the south road.”

The crane driver headed in that direction.
“I need someone to take over this
hose,” Bridget said. “And confirm how many are inside the hut.”

A few
minutes later one of her team members replaced her and she moved north of the
unit to see where the search team was.

“Bridge,
I think they’re both in there,” the searcher said over the radio.

Bridget
hoped to God he was right. Spotting the men, she moved into the crude unit
toward them. She had to see for herself. She had to know where Jack was.

It
was hot as hell and it was going to be an awkward lift, but they couldn’t rush
this. She had to keep her team safe. The “hut” was hardly more than a
half-sized steel door. “Could two people fit in there?”

“It’d
be a squeeze but it’s possible.”

The
steelwork around her screeched, the heat from the flames was intense. Puddles
of oil had formed, probably from the relief valves venting. If it got hot
enough those puddles would ignite. They had to do this fast. It was getting
hotter by the minute.

“We only
need one person to attach the chain to the steel,” Bridget said. The metal
needed to be lifted high enough to open the door. It wasn’t much. “I can do it.
I want the rest of you to clear the area.”

The
two men looked at her. They knew the risks.

“Move,”
she yelled. “Get me a fire tender to the east side of the crude unit.” The area
needed to be foamed. She glanced up and noticed the oil streaks ran all the way
down the tower. Had the relief valves closed or were they stuck open? If the
flames got into the tower the explosion would kill them all. She couldn’t even
calculate the blast zone.

The
technicians moved away and Bridget turned her attention to the steel and the
crane. She had to be quick.

The crane
jib moved toward her, the chain dangling from the edge as it inched its way
lower. Grabbing on to it she gave the driver the signal to stop and hooked the
chain around the steel, making sure it was secure before motioning for it to be
lifted.

The
steel lifted slowly, inch by inch, until it was clear of the door. Bridget
flung it open as the chain slipped, causing the steel to fall onto the open
door. It didn’t matter, it was open.

All
she could see was a pair of pants and boots. “Get out,” she called as whoever
it was started to crawl backward.

“Get
out of here,” she radioed to the crane operator. “It’s not safe.”

The
fire tender hadn’t arrived yet and it was getting hotter. She hoped they’d
clear the area before it heated to ignition point. She stood back to give room
to whoever was crawling out so he could stand. It was one of the operation
technicians. He reached back in and started to drag someone else out.

Jack.

Bridget’s
heart pounded heavy in her chest, almost in slow motion. His head was covered
in blood and his arm was at an unnatural angle. He was unconscious.

Now
was not the time to panic. “Help me stand him up,” she told the technician, who
was a little unsteady on his feet.

They
got Jack to a semi-standing position and Bridget picked him up in a fireman’s
lift over her shoulders. Goddamn, he was heavy. She shifted him a little,
hoping she wasn’t doing further damage, and nodded toward the safe zone. “Go!”
she ordered the technician.

The
fire tender arrived and started spraying the whole area.

Gritting
her teeth she moved as fast as she could, following the technician out of the
bund as metal creaked and groaned around them. She climbed the small flight of
stairs, her muscles screaming.
One step in front of the
other.
She couldn’t stop now.

“You’re
almost there, Bridge,” someone called encouragement over the radio.

She
grunted. With every step, Jack seemed to gain five pounds. They hit the road
and Bridget nodded.
“That way.”

Next
to her a spot fire ignited.

Chapter 21

She moved with a burst of speed, willing her
legs not to fail her. Her pants were soaked with foam as someone dowsed the
flames near her. A couple of men ran forward to help the technician who was
struggling, and to take some of Jack’s weight.

She
reached the ambulance and the medics took Jack off her shoulders and laid him
onto a stretcher. She spun around to check how far away they were from the
plant and the flames. The fire officers had saturated the whole area in foam
and the spot fire was out.

“We’ve
got Jack and Roger,” she yelled through her radio. “Is everyone accounted for?”

“Yeah, Bridget.”
Ken told her. “That’s everyone.”

Relief
swept through her and all her breath seemed to leave her. She turned back to
Jack. He was being loaded into an ambulance. She raced over.

“How
is he?”

“He’s
critical,” the paramedic said. “No
burns, but that gash on
his head is
serious. We’ll keep you informed.”

Before
she could check him herself, they shut the ambulance and drove away. She turned
to the technician who had been with Jack.

“How
are you?”

“All right.
Jack took the brunt of the impact. I was behind him.”

Bridget
couldn’t spend time finding out what happened now. She waved to one of her team
members. “Take him to the gatehouse, make sure he gets checked.”

She turned
back to the burning plant and spoke into the radio. “Fire teams give me a
status update.”

One
by one they reported in. The fire was contained but it was going to be a long
time before it was out. She breathed a sigh of relief. What was next?

“Anthony,
you need to call the families of all the injured and let them know what’s
happened. I want all non-essential personnel to go home. We need to clear the
plant. Send twenty at a time. I don’t want a traffic jam in the parking lot.”

“Anthony’s
already doing it,” Ken said.

That
was one less thing to worry about. Over in the plant the plume of smoke was
thick and black, reaching far up into the sky like a mushroom cloud. The
repercussions of this were going to be felt for a long time.

“Control
room, what have you got for me?”

“The
whole plant is in shutdown, but there are some alarms that need checking.”

“Tell
me who you need.”

The
last thing she needed was an incident in another unit. When they gave her the
names she sent the relevant operation technicians to check the alarms.

She
had to regroup. She called each fire tender leader to her and reviewed their
plan of attack. They set up one team to form a perimeter to make sure the
flames didn’t spread and another team to keep the temperature of the
surrounding areas
cool
and wet. A further team was set
up for dealing with spot fires and the rest concentrated on the source of the
fire.

They
worked for hours. At some stage Ken radioed to say the site was clear except
for the managers who were in crisis management mode and the technicians who
were dealing with the alarms.

Bridget’s
thoughts constantly strayed to Jack. How was he? How bad were his injuries? Was
he already stabilized? She shook her head. She had a job to do. The teams had
to be well hydrated and they needed to take breaks – she had to make sure they
weren’t exhausting themselves.

At
some time close to dusk, she was taking over a fire hose from a technician
going on a break, when her radio squawked.

“The
cavalry have arrived.
Time for a shift change?”
It was
Jeremy.

Bridget
closed her eyes briefly. “Haven’t you been at the competition all day?”

“No.
Ken called me up when it happened. Told us to go home and rest up.”

She
wanted to bless Ken for thinking of it. “How many have you got?”

“Two shifts.
We can replace this shift and some of the neighbors. Where are you?”

She
gave him her location, and not long after he arrived. She handed the hose to
one of his men and took Jeremy some distance away to run through a handover.

When
she was finished he let out a low whistle. “I’m impressed, Bridge. You handled
yourself well. That’s some major shit you’ve dealt with.”

“Did
you catch whether there’s any news on the injured?” She was desperate for news
of Jack.

“No,
didn’t ask. The crisis management team want
a debrief
though.”

Bridget
groaned. She couldn’t remember exactly what she’d yelled at Kevin in the heat
of the moment but she was not likely to be popular. “We’re going to need to
send a report to the authorities too.” Had anyone thought to do that yet?

“Good
luck. I’ll take over here.”

She
hugged him and called to her team. “It’s home time, guys. You’ve done a great
job.”

She
spoke to each of her team members before they left, making sure they were all
right to drive and telling them she’d call with an update. Then when there was
nothing left to procrastinate over, she went into the administration building
and found where the managers were holding the crisis talks.

Knocking
before she entered, she went straight over to the HR officer. “How is everyone?”

“Most
are under observation for another couple of hours,” he said. “Those who were
unconscious are being kept overnight.”

“What
about Jack?”

Before
he could reply, Kevin strode over.

“Who
the hell do you think you are?” he bellowed.

Bridget
was too tired to deal with him. “I’m the only emergency response coordinator
who was on site today. Have we notified the authorities about the incident?”

“We’ll
deal with the paperwork later. Right now I want to know why you thought you had
the right to shut down my plant.”

Bridget
walked over to the nearest computer and brought up a document. “We have a legal
obligation to inform the authorities of an incident on site within twenty-four
hours.”

She
pressed print, walked over to the printer, and picked up the document.
Scrolling through, she found the section she was looking for, grabbed a pen and
circled it.

“This
is why I had the right to shut down the plant.” She handed Kevin the document,
and turned back to the other managers. “You need to arrange a roster for the
fire fighters. That fire is going to keep burning for a while yet. I recommend
keeping everyone off site until next week. The regulators are going to be
crawling all over the plant as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

“This
document is ridiculous,” Kevin spluttered, having finally read the section
about the emergency response coordinator taking full control in an emergency.

“Then
you shouldn’t have approved it,” said Bridget.

“You
don’t expect me to read everything put in front of me?” Kevin demanded.

She
shrugged. “It’s entirely up to you.” She turned to the production manager.
“Crude unit one is ruined. It’s not going to be up and running for months. It’s
too soon to tell how much damage has been done to the second crude unit.”

“This
is your fault. That damned safety project of yours must be the cause of it,”
Kevin said. “I should have known better than to hire you after that last
incident.”

Her
fury released like a shark scenting blood. “You don’t know shit,” she cried,
ignoring the gasp from someone behind her. “The previous incident wasn’t my
fault and I’m damned sure this one wasn’t either.” She prayed she was right. “I
don’t know what caused the initial fire but those relief valves venting to
atmosphere sure added fuel to it. If you’d approved my project three months
ago, they’d have already been replaced. So if it’s on anyone’s head it’s
yours.” She walked toward the door. “Don’t forget to submit the report to the
regulators,” she said. “I’m going home.”

The
second she sat behind the wheel of her truck she started to shake. The
convulsions wouldn’t stop. Her teeth clattered together and her heart pounded
in her chest so hard she thought it was going to burst through. She hung on to
the steering wheel to stop herself from shaking apart.

Ten men.
She’d nearly lost ten men today.

It
could have been a lot worse, she knew, but ten badly injured men were bad
enough. There were ten men who weren’t going home in the same state as they’d
left it.
Ten men who had been injured on her watch.

And
one of them was Jack.

* * *

Jack’s
first thought when he woke was that he must have had a great night out, because
his head was throbbing and he couldn’t remember a thing. As he cautiously
opened one eye he heard the blip of a machine, and as he focused he realized he
was in a hospital bed.

What
the hell had happened?

Carefully
he moved and pain shot through his arm. He moaned.

“Oh
honey, you’re awake. Don’t move. Let me get a nurse.” His mother’s face
appeared in his line of sight for a second before disappearing again.

A
moment later she returned with a nurse in tow.

“How
are you feeling?” the nurse asked, shining a light in his eyes.

He
blinked and squinted. “I’d be better if you didn’t shine that thing at me.”

The
nurse chuckled. “Good. Can you tell me your name and what day it is?”

“Jackson
Gibbs.” Hell, what day was it?
“Wednesday?”

“Great.
Just squeeze my hands for me,” she said, holding out her hands.

He
did as she asked.

“Are
you feeling any pain?”

Now that
he was becoming more alert, every muscle in his body ached. “My head is the
worst.”

“We
can give you some medication for that.
Anywhere else?”

He
mentally scanned his body.
“My shoulder.”
The rest of
his body just ached.

“You’ve
dislocated it, but the meds will help that as well.”

Jack
turned to his mother and noticed his father behind her. “What happened?”

“You
had an accident at work. They wouldn’t tell me anything more.”

Closing
his eyes he tried to recall. He remembered the unit starting up again, remembered
going to ask Bridget to supervise because he’d overheard the technicians
sounding stressed. He’d been in her office and seen a list with his name at the
top. He remembered the hurt when she’d told him she was only considering the
new job, remembered the feeling of not being good enough for her …
remembered storming out.

Then
what?

Anthony
had discovered some of the technicians had crammed a bed into a little hut in
the plant so they could get a few hours’ sleep on night shift. He wanted it
immediately removed and Jack had to make sure it was done safely. He’d gone
into the crude unit with Roger, one of the technicians who had been trying to
convince him there was no harm in the guys getting a bit of shut-eye on night
shift. It wasn’t good for them to be working fatigued.

When
Jack had seen the tiny space, right next to some of the most dangerous lines on
the plant, he hadn’t believed it. As he’d turned back to Roger, there’d been a
loud roar and Roger had shoved him inside. He’d hit his head on the opposite
wall as the plant shook.

Shit.
Something had gone seriously wrong at the plant.

Bridget!
He’d sent her out to supervise. His heart raced and he tried to sit up. “Is
Bridget all right?”

“I
don’t know.” His mother put a hand on his shoulder. “You need to lie down.”

“I
need to know she’s all right.”

“I’ll
find out for you. Take the pills from the nurse.”

The
nurse had returned and was holding out two white pills and a cup of water. He
grabbed them and swallowed them down. “The HR manager is over there.” The nurse
pointed past the partition where Anthony was talking to Mike.

“Tell
him to come here,” Jack said to his mother. If anything had happened to Bridget
he’d never forgive himself.

A
minute later Anthony was at Jack’s bedside. He looked exhausted.

“What
happened?” Jack demanded.

“We
don’t know all the details yet. There was an explosion in the crude unit. We
have ten injured, none killed.”

“Bridget?”

“She’s
the incident controller. When I left she had everything under control.”

Jack
let out the breath he’d been holding. “How bad are the injured?”

“You’re
one of the worst,” Anthony said with a small smile. “It’s mostly smoke
inhalation, a few broken bones, and some burns that should heal well. We’ve
only got one guy with major burns. He’s in surgery now.”

Even
one was bad enough. “Are all the injured here?” He nodded toward the curtains
and winced at the pain. They must be in an emergency room.