Tommy suddenly sits straight up in bed. Looking out of his window, he sees flashing blue lights approaching the house and as they stop in front, he becomes aware of the searing heat and the smell of smoke.
Leaping out of bed, he hears Buddy barking furiously outside his door.
Remembering the fire safety class he recently had at school, he runs and feels the door and doorknob to see if they are hot. On finding them cool to the touch he opens the door.
Through the thick smoke, he can barely make out his dad lying at the top of the stairs. “Help me, Buddy!”
Together, Buddy and nine-year-old Tommy drag Mr. Leonard into the bedroom.
After shutting the door behind them, Tommy stuffs a blanket under the door to keep out as much smoke as possible.
He then stands on the bed and shows himself in the window, without opening it, of course.
He is relieved to see two firemen pointing up at him, and then signaling him to stay put.
Meanwhile, the sound of the sirens has also awaked Mary.
She wakes up Robert and the two of them head for the stairs.
But they see heavy smoke filling the stairwell, and flickering flames at the bottom. They know they can never make it.
So they head for the front balcony and wait there to be rescued.
As Mary looks down and sees only Amy and Sophie have made it outside, she begins sobbing. Robert puts his arms around her and tries to reassure her everything will be alright, though he is not so convinced himself.
To be continued....
