Fire, Flames and Fallout

How something very small can grow bigger and be totally destructive.

 

 

FIRE, FLAMES AND FALLOUT

 

The tiny flame flickered in the wind, it was the last of the flames that could be seen after the devastating fire that had burnt down an old timber yard. Everywhere else was dark, gloomy and wet where the firemen’s hoses had sprayed heavily over the blazing wood. The sky was grey, heavy with rain clouds even though it hadn’t stopped raining all the previous night and day. Still the tiny flame lingered on, as if it were saying that all was not over and done with. The ground was covered in sludge made up of burnt wood and water, which made walking on it slippery and dangerous. Cars arrived bringing the owners of the timber yard, and then inspectors from the various insurance companies. And the tiny flame, unseen by any of the people who had gone to check out the damage, continued in its task to restart the fire.

A fine rain began falling, creating an even worse atmosphere than already existed. The outer shell of the main building of the timber yard which had housed the offices was still intact, thanks to its being made of brick. The interior had gone up in flames like the rest.

 

The timber yard was owned by a family for several generations and had been the bone of contention amongst the relatives for many years, ever since the local authorities had asked for permission to purchase the land for new properties. The family had been split over whether it was a good idea or not. The main argument for selling was so that everyone had capital to set up another business they preferred. The opposite argument was to keep it for posterity. The reality was that nowadays furniture is made of conglomerates and not pure wood. The idea of cutting down more forests for wood that was not for anything other than the essential, was quite out of the question for a large number of people.

 

The insurance companies, who had maintained a high premium on the yard over such a long time, were not keen to pay up unless it could be proved to have been caused by accident and not arson. As the day wore on and the light was becoming dimmer and dimmer it was agreed by all the parties present to go home and meet the following day, weather permitting, to try and work out a solution which would be beneficial to all those concerned. The family wanted the maximum financial benefit and the insurance companies wanted to pay out as little as possible. Meanwhile the local authorities were sitting it out to see what the eventual outcome would be, knowing that they had the most probabilities of coming out on top.

 

Four young teenagers were walking away from the smoking timber yard to where a man in dark clothes was waiting for them. He was the chauffeur to Willis, the eldest of the three brothers who owned the timber yard. He gave each one an envelope packed tight with money. “This is what we agreed upon, isn’t it?” the chauffeur said as they stared at the envelopes. “Why don’t you open up and count your money?”

The boys did as he suggested and said, “Thank you, Sir.”

The chauffeur smiled at them and got into the large black car and started it up. In a few seconds he was gone, and the quartet, hands in their pockets holding onto the envelopes for dear life, left for their own homes.

 

The boys, Jaden, Wiley, Hunter and Clyde, were no typical no-hopers who hung out in the mean district of the timber yard. No one understood why this was, but there were always groups of boys there. Willis’s chauffeur had spotted them when driving his boss home some weeks before. Willis wanted out of the timber yard and for quite some time had been thinking about how to do it without creating too many waves. As the first of three brothers, he felt it his responsibility to step into action.

“Look at those boys, Boss, they’ve lit a fire to warm their hands. They seem to be burning whatever they can find,” Luke, the chauffeur, commented.

Willis asked Luke to stop the car and the two men sat inside the vehicle and watched the boys as they collected bits of rubbish and then threw them onto the bonfire they were doing their best to keep going.

“Luke, let’s go and have a chat with them. I have the beginnings of an idea that might just work taking seed in my mind.”

They drove to where the four were huddling round their fire.

“Hello, boys. Warming yourselves up?” Luke asked them through the open window.

The boys looked at the car and the two men inside it and took a few steps back. They had all been taught not to speak to strange men and they were wary. Luke and Willis realized that, and then Willis told Luke to ask them if they wanted to earn some money.

“Would you like to make some money?” Luke asked them.

The boys stared at each other, and then Jaden, the eldest of the group, said, “ What would we have to do?”

"Just light a bonfire like this one. Only bigger. We’ll tell you where to do this. OK?” Luke replied to Jaden’s question.

“What do we get out of it?” Wiley asked.

“Say your price,” Luke said.

The four boys got together and were obviously trying to come to a decision about their price. Then Clyde stepped forward and said, “We think that as you haven’t told us the full story we’d be better off waiting for your instructions, and anyway you probably have an idea of what we should be paid.”

Willis said to Luke, “They’re not stupid. Tell them to meet you here in a couple of days’ time. That’s when they will be given the final instructions.”

Luke relayed Willis’s message to the boys and then drove off.

 

That evening the four boys looked round their homes with critical eyes and saw how the money they were going to earn could be well spent. The apartments they lived in were part of the area that would benefit from the removal of the timber yard, which would mean all the buildings and businesses would become more upmarket. With the timber yard gone there would be no place for delinquents to hang out in. The boys chosen by Luke had no qualms about the as yet unknown job they had to carry out. Their families needed money, and the boys would get it for them.

 

Willis had two brothers, Scott and Leslie, they had got on fairly well, except where the selling of the site of the timber yard was concerned. Willis had no intention at all of informing his brothers of the burning down of the timber yard. The idea had occurred to him on seeing the boys with their bonfire. What could possibly go wrong! Four boys and an accident with their fire. So simple!

 

Willis planned it all, and got Luke to deliver the message to the boys. There was to be nothing suspicious that the police or the insurance inspectors could find out. They were to be paid some money beforehand, and the rest after the fire. The four agreed and went home happily with the first payment. The day before the fire was to start the boys had gathered up anything combustible and began creating the fire. They also had to wait for the wind to be blowing in the right direction so that a spark would ‘accidentally’ be carried over to the timber yard by a slight wind. Willis had taken it upon himself to find out what would cause sparks to fly and stay alive.

So four households suddenly found themselves with all the rubbish gone and with clean trash bins. Anything greasy was thrown onto the pyre, dry goods went the same way. After working hard till the bonfire was the desired height. The four boys went and sat down under a tarpaulin that had been left there by a workman some time ago. They had taken sandwiches and soft drinks to make sure they didn’t get hungry while waiting for the moment for the fire to be started.

Luke rang Hunter on his mobile, “It’s time to get into action. Make sure you do it well, OK?”

Hunter replied, “Everything’s ready to go. See you later.” Hunter rang off. He said to his mates, “It’s party time.”

The boys lit up the bonfire from several points and slowly acrid smoke began pouring out of the pile of rubbish. The stench was disgusting, but the boys simply stayed in their places round the bonfire warming their hands as they usually did. The wind began blowing up the flames and then magic happened, and sparks began flying through the air in the direction of the timber yard.

 

Long before the firemen had been and done their work, the four boys had gone home with the thought that the next day or soon after they would be handsomely compensated.

 

Two insurance inspectors arrived, they were Dean Wilson and Robert Glass. The chief fireman told them that the fire had been caused by a spark from a bonfire that was lit by young boys. It was an accident, he said. The inspectors went through the remains of the fire with a fine-tooth comb but they missed the aforementioned ‘tiny flame’. Willis, looking convincingly, seriously, accompanied by Leslie and Scott, who were unable to believe their eyes, arrived at the timber yard. There was no longer a bone of contention, now all that they wanted was the financial gain to be made from the insurance, and money from the authorities who wanted to build on the site.

 

The rain stopped but the wind still blew during the night. The tiny flame, encouraged by the slight breeze it felt, began to grow till it was a bigger flame. The water from the firemen’s hoses had not penetrated deep enough, and right underneath the wood was still dry. The flame suddenly became flames, and a second fire broke out. It was very clear that the insurance inspectors had not done their job properly or otherwise they would have seen that the fire had not been dead. This lack of professional behaviour on the part of the insurance inspectors made the three brothers happy. Now they would get a better compensation.

 

When all was over, said, and done, Willis called the four boys to his new office, “How would you all like to come and work for me?”

Jaden asked, “Would we get a contract?”

“If you’re good, yes, you would. What have you got to lose?” Willis asked.

“Nothing,” said Hunter.

“Then you’ve got nothing to lose.” Willis replied.

Clyde said,” My mother wants me to study and get a degree, and if I don’t she’ll be disappointed.”

Wiley said, “My mother’s just the same.”

Scott, who had been standing and looking at the boys said, “Why don’t you do the two things. You can both work for me part-time and study at the same time. Well what do you think?”

Clyde and Wiley looked at Scott and liked what they saw, and agreed with him. The three brothers had set up new businesses with the money received from insurance and the authorities. The only worry the boys might have, was if they couldn’t live up to the brothers’ expectations.

 

Two years later, new buildings occupied the old site of the timber yard. The three brothers were no longer interested in it. They had got what they wanted.

The four boys and their families had moved away, thanks to the boys’ salaries from the brothers’ companies.

 

Was everyone happy? Not everyone, but then someone had to lose out, and the insurance companies did.