BY GLENN P. CORBETT “What? How many a-larms?” asked Fire Marshal George Earnest as he walked into his office. He made himself a cup of coffee, a necessary evil to get him going so early in the morning. “A third alarm, a 2:00 a.m. factory fire in the Third Division. Deputy Chief Murray was the chief working the fire,” responded Lieutenant Francis. “Alright, I want the strike force activated. We’ll meet at 10:30. Have Murray and Fire Chief Leo Harris come in a half an hour early. I want to talk to them.” “No problem,” said the Lieutenant. How long had it been, Earnest thought to himself, six and a half years since the last third alarm? Boy, was that a real screw-up! What is going on now? In his mind, George Earnest began to drift back in time. How long had it been since fires were coming in every…
