Heads Out

The Killer Fire

THURSDAY... It’s been a month since that fire incident happened in our school. The transformer located at our main gate suddenly exploded causing a huge fire which immediately spread throughout our school. The furious flames engulfed the entire school in just a matter of time, bringing great damage to all of our buildings, especially the new building which is located near the gate.

It not only brought great damage to the school facilities but also brought unmeasurable damage to the hearts of the families who were left behind by their loved ones due to this mishap.

“Rika, come on! The teachers are calling us now!” my friend Jackie called me to come out from the comfort room.

“Just a few more seconds!” I shouted back while fixing my straight dark brown hair.

“Hurry! The mass is going to start!” she shouted again while pounding the wooden door.

“Alright! Alright! I’m coming out!” With last look at my hair, I hurriedly picked up my things and went out.

“What took you so long?” she asked while we’re walking.

“Sorry. I woke up late so I didn’t have much time to fix my hair.”

Jackie and I walked faster to return to our line. Every student are at the ground forming two lines for each section: one for the boys, and one for the girls. It is a cloudy day and a bit of wind touches our skin as we wait for the priest to start the mass.

We are conducting a daily mass for those who died at the accident. It only started last Monday due to the suspension of classes, which lasted for a one whole month due to the restoration of some rooms. Even though the new building and some other rooms are still inaccessible, our principal decided to resume the classes.

“We gather around here this morning to mourn for the death of our beloved brothers and sisters who died in the fire accident last month,” the priest said.

Yes, it’s already been a month since that terrible accident occurred but it’s still fresh from everybody’s mind. It seems like it was just yesterday when my classmates and I saw a very horrifying scene—a scene that will forever be engraved on our hearts and minds.

The horrid fire accident.

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IT'S ON THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, same day as of now, I, Jackie and three more classmates of ours are in-charge with the cleaning of our classroom. Our teacher dismissed us early since the examination week had just ended. We are singing in the sound of our brooms as we sweep the floor. That’s sort of a tradition for us or you coul consider it as a way of removing our boredom.

“Rika, I’m going to take the garbage out now!” shouted a tall skinny boy who’s picking the garbage can at the corner of the room.

“Okay! Thanks, Josh!” I answered back with a smile on my face.

I saw his cheeks turned a bit red. I thought he had a fever, but I shrugged the idea off since he was exiting our room in a lively manner. I just continued sweeping and singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.

Just a few seconds after Josh went out of the room, the rest of us who are in the classroom got startled by a very loud noise. It sounded like a big explosion. And that explosion didn’t end with just one big bang. It was also followed by loud screams, loud scary horrifying screams. The happy singing voices of the students a while ago were replaced by earsplitting shrieks.

We went outside the room to see what is happening. And as soon as we stepped outside, it’s as if we’ve entered a nightmare. No, nightmare is an understatement. The whole school is like a living hell.

We saw tons of people on fire running for their lives trying to put out the blazing fire that’s eating up their whole body. Children, parents, guards and teachers are screaming for help. The fury fire is impartial whether you’re a man, a woman, an adult, or a child. Everyone was engulfed by those killer blazes.

Our feet were glued to the ground—not moving an inch—as we watch how the angry hot flames kill hundreds of innocent people. We were shocked and terrified that made our bodies turned to stones.

“Help! Put it out! Put it out!” I was awakened by the cries and struggles of a burning man just five meters away in front of our room.

“Help!” He called again. He kept on struggling against the fury flame. But what could we do? What could I do? We are just second graders! We don’t know anything about firefighting or saving a man’s life. We are just a bunch of kids who just happened to be there. But I know we can’t let him die just like that.

“Everybody gather some containers—your lunch box, your tumblers, anything! And fetch some water! Hurry!” Water is the only thing I know that can put out a fire, so this should work, I thought.

Josh took the empty trash can while the other boys took the little pail in the bathroom and filled both of them with water. Jackie and I took our tumblers. The five of us splashed our water simultaneously into the burning man.

We somehow managed to put out the fire on the man’s body but we weren’t able to save his life. Jackie vomited a lot seeing the poor man’s corpse. His whole body was full of burns which revealed his bloody flesh. There’s an unpleasant odor passing through our nostrils that makes our stomach turn upside-down. His eyeballs are popping out and his crimson blood is staining the ground; the blood from his freshly toasted flesh and the blood from his struggles against the fire.

I looked around the school. Fire and smoke engulfed the whole surrounding. Many people are still running while on fire. There are some of them who’s rolling on the ground to put out the killer fire that’s clinging to their body. But unfortunately, their efforts went up in flames as their lives were taken before they could’ve put it out. We saw these people getting burned up little by little. They were being tortured by the furious flares. Those bright yellowish red flames burn their skin, revealing the bloody flesh of their victims. The fire which killed hundreds of people is like a virus that when it touches your skin, it will be the end for you. It will embrace you until you lose your last breath.

The fire lasted for almost twelve hours. The school is filled with smoke, burnt facilities, tons of dead people, and crimson blood everywhere. Many families were left mourning for the death of their loved ones. My classmates and I are one of the few lucky ones who escaped that catastrophe without physical harm. It’s a good thing that we have a fire exit near our building and the fire hadn’t gotten there. Even though we have no physical injuries, we still suffered from trauma and nightmares about the accident. It took us a month before we almost got back to our normal lives, but it doesn’t mean that we have forgotten everything. No one can ever forget that day.