Sometimes you can tell when it's time to GTFO

Back in 1980 there was a fire in the Harbor View Restaurant in Stonington Borough, Ct. Many local Fire departments responded to what would later be determined as an arson fire. Gerald M. and myself went to the second floor, a residential section for the building, to make a search to make sure the the occupants were evacuated. As with any real building fire, unlike the Hollywood version where you can see what's going on, there is very little actual sight.  Your world in a fire is limited to feel and a black and brown swirl of smoke and soot in front of your air pack mask. The difference in lighting is usually limited to glow, either yellowish from a flashlight or red orange from the fire. This is one of the reasons firemen cut holes in a roof, it's called venting. Anyway, on this day we entered the first room, Jerry worked right, I left., both working outwards from the walls to maintain orientation. It is easy to get lost in a room when you can't see and since you are working low,  a person can get his air bottle entangled in simple things like a table and chairs. Point of interest here, in order to keep from circling in a room check out the floor, as long as it isn't carpet you can usually follow a pattern line or wood seam to a wall. Anyway, on thisday, as we made the search there was a sound of something banging on metal...we both followed the sound and arrived together in the bathroom. The banging noise was actually the pipes coming up through the floor, they were cherry red and the noise was the metal expanding. This is when we agreed it was a good time to "GTFO" (Get the F out), or, make a hasty retreat. If pipes are red then the fire has extended to the floor below and the floor is not in the safest condition it has ever been in. We exited the building to the patio roof. Then made our way to the roof to open it up (vent). By the time we made our way on to the roof, which was no more than climbing a six foot wall onto it. By the time we were up and made the first swing the fire was out the windows of the rooms we were just in.
Though finally extinguished, the building was extremely damaged and would be rebuilt as a single story restaurant. After coming off the roof, I was quickly approached by another firefighter.Jerry who had stayed on the he roof with some Borough Firefighters was being carried down the arial ladder with them, this would lead to a follow the ambulance to the hospital and a night in the he emergency room waiting for him to be released.

But that would be another long story, one with IVs, screaming, wives crying, and other such fun things...