Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 425: More danger than good
A black Ford Transit SWAT vehicle sped along the road, with the words "SWAT" and "Special Police" printed in white on its body, indicating the vehicle's ownership.

Sitting by the car door, Chen Shu looked serious and said in a deep voice, "Once we arrive at the scene, our task is to maintain order at the fire scene and wait for the fire department to arrive and handle the situation."

After a pause, Chen Shuhuan looked around and instructed, "According to the information reported from the command center, the situation on the ground is not optimistic, and there is a high possibility of death. So no matter what the people on the ground say, how they speak, or even if they point their fingers at you and shout insults, you are not allowed to move without authorization."

"Follow orders!" Chen Shu shouted again at the end, fearing that these impulsive young people would cause trouble.

"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.

Chen Shu looked at the excited faces of these young special police officers one by one.

Today they barely managed to take first place among the city's special police, and compared to their previous record of being last, everyone's mentality has undergone a complete change.

To use a popular description, the feeling is like having your hands in your pockets and not knowing who your opponent is.

They were young, had no professional fire rescue experience, and had never witnessed the dangers of a fire. Having won first place in the daytime competition, they were at the peak of their confidence.

Once you get to the scene, if you do something impulsive in a moment of passion, it will be too late to regret it.

During his eight years as a police officer, Chen Shu received quite a few fire alarms at the Zhongshan Police Station. When he arrived at the scene, he mainly focused on maintaining order, while the main responsibility for rescue still fell to the fire brigade.

The troop transport vehicle was moving very fast, and the accident site was close to the Dongzhou Police Academy where the competition was being held. In addition to the local police station and traffic police team, the special police brigade led by Chen Shu was the first support force to arrive.

However, since the fire occurred in an urban village, which is full of narrow, winding paths, a large number of people, vehicles, and various electric bikes, tricycles, and handcarts had suddenly appeared on the road, blocking it due to the fierce fire.

The already congested traffic became even more difficult.

According to Chen Shu's previous plan in the car, he should have gotten out of the car with his team to maintain order so that the fire department convoy that came to provide support could pass through the blocked road and reach the fire scene as quickly as possible.

However, Chen Shu was not familiar with this place. He learned from the walkie-talkie that the traffic police in his jurisdiction had arrived at the scene, so he decided to get out of the car in advance and take his men to the scene. He would then cooperate with the traffic police on the scene to carry out their firefighting work.

Based on nearly ten years of grassroots work experience, in such extremely dangerous fire incidents, the special police can only serve as an auxiliary force to cooperate with professional fire departments in handling the situation. They should not act lightly, nor is it necessary for them to act on their own.

The fire department has a corresponding response mechanism and should be able to arrive at the scene quickly.

After making a decision, Chen Shu called on his team members to get off the bus and run towards the scene of the incident.

Upon arriving at the scene, Chen Shu looked up at the six-story residential building in front of him. Very obvious black smoke was billowing out from the stairwells on the fourth and fifth floors.

"Who are you?" a traffic policeman wearing a white hat ran over and asked.

Chen Shu said, "We are special police officers on duty nearby. We rushed over after receiving a request for support from the command center. What's the situation up there now? Have all the civilians come down?"

The traffic policeman, his face ashen, shook his head: "We just had the property management contact the residents affected by the fire. There's still one family that hasn't arrived yet. According to the family we contacted, only an elderly person is home looking after the child; they're probably still asleep, so we can't get through on the phone. The fire was raging; it's really dangerous."

"Ah!" Zou Qing, the brigade's internal affairs officer who followed her off the bus, covered her mouth in shock upon hearing this.

Chen Shu glanced around and asked, "Where are the local police station officers? Have they gone upstairs? When will the fire department arrive?"

"Two people ran up there, and the others are at the property management office calling the residents. I don't know about the fire department, but I guess they'll be there soon," the traffic policeman replied hesitantly, as he himself was unsure.

Chen Shu nodded and returned to the car to arrange for the special police officers to work with the traffic police to direct traffic, disperse the crowd, and maintain order at the scene.

Chen Chuan leaned closer: "The book, aren't you going up to take a look?"

Chen Shu shook his head: "The police have gone up, so let's not go up and cause trouble. Let's clear the passage downstairs so the fire truck can get in later." "When you were younger, you'd probably already be upstairs. I remember when we were interns, I was walking along the river after get off work. I heard cries for help saying someone had jumped into the river, and you jumped in without even blinking." Chen Chuan shook his head, reminiscing about the past.

"That's God giving me a way out."

Chen Shu looked up at the billowing black smoke upstairs again and said, "It's only after experiencing many things like this that you realize how scary it is. The night I jumped into the river to save someone, I stayed up all night under the covers. My whole body was shaking. At the time, I couldn't understand why, but it was only much later that I suddenly understood."

He swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "I'm scared, really scared."

After saying that, Chen Shu turned back to look at the group of young SWAT officers and muttered to himself, "They are still young and don't know any respect. Sometimes they rush in on a whim. Little do they know that for fish like them, going up there would most likely be a waste of time. They also have parents waiting for them to come home safe and sound."

Just then, a bloodcurdling scream came from not far away.

"Oh dear! My grandson! My wife is still inside! Please, please go up and save them!"

Chen Shu turned to look at the noisy area and saw an old man with gray hair grabbing Zou Qing's right hand and shaking it desperately, almost kneeling down.

Zou Qing was probably encountering this situation for the first time, and she was so anxious that her face turned red. She waved her hands repeatedly but didn't know what to say, and she looked like she was about to cry.

Chen Shu walked over, helped the old man up with both hands, and said, "Grandpa, don't do this. We've already contacted the fire department, they're on their way and will be here soon."

The old man, tears streaming down his face, cried, "Sir! I've lived here for over twenty years, and I know the roads like the back of my hand. Fire trucks are so big, they definitely can't get in anytime soon. If we wait for them, it'll be too late. My grandson and wife will definitely be burned alive!"

They might not necessarily be burned to death, but the possibility of being suffocated by smoke is extremely high.

Chen Shu and his team had indeed encountered similar road blockages on their way to provide support, but fortunately, their troop transport vehicles, with their horns blaring the whole way, didn't waste much time.

However, thinking of those huge fire trucks, Chen Shu's face darkened, realizing that what the old man said was not wrong.

This fire truck has difficulty getting in!
Chen Shu fell silent, simply watching the old man quietly, holding his hands and gently patting them.

Knowing it was hopeless, the old man sighed heavily and ran towards the stairwell.

Chen Chuan reacted quickly and stepped forward to stop the old man, but the old man was determined to die and ignored Chen Chuan's attempts to pull him away, preparing to run into the building.

The argument between the two attracted the attention of onlookers, some of whom took out their phones and raised them, while others jeered at the police for not helping them.

The situation was getting a little out of control.

Zhang Yang and her group, who were originally celebrating with Chen Shu and others at the Dongzhou Police Academy, arrived at the scene in the television station's vehicle. She skillfully directed the film crew to broadcast the news immediately, and now that she had a moment to spare, she rushed to Chen Shu's side.

"Brother Shu, what's going on? Are the old man's family members still upstairs and haven't escaped yet?" Zhang Yang asked casually, looking around.

On the roadside, Chen Shu crossed his arms and slowly scanned the excited crowd of onlookers, the SWAT team members who were bowing their heads in embarrassment, and the faces with different expressions.

"Yes, the old man's wife and grandson are upstairs and haven't come down, but the police have gone up." Chen Shu, his face ashen, exhaled a breath of stale air and said in a low voice.

As a seasoned and knowledgeable reporter, Zhang Yang didn't freeze up like Zou Qing after hearing this, though her expression was equally unpleasant.

She looked up at the thick smoke billowing from the fourth and fifth floors, knowing that the grandmother and grandson were probably in grave danger.

(End of this chapter)