My partner and I both leaned our heads back and closed our eyes when dispatch woke us up again – "Truck 32- We have received three more calls, thick smoke possibly coming from an abandoned house, unknown occupants, no flames seen."

We were wide awake now and finished putting on our gear. I rolled down my window and could smell smoke. As we pulled up to the house, my captain yelled back, "Something doesn't seem right, so keep your head on a swivel. Thomas, you're nozzleman. Head to the front door until I get a 360, and wait for me there."

As the truck came to a stop, I saw red flames dancing out of an upstairs' windows.

Follow Thomas McClane through his first year on the Bloomington Fire Department, learning his skills and fighting house fires and wildfires.