We ate a big breakfast at a local restaurant, like we did every Father’s Day. The present my daughter gave me was a T-shirt with the words “World’s Coolest Dad”. I put it on, feeling that was what made Father’s Day so great.

Just then my volunteer fire-department pager (呼机) went off: “Attention, Pocahontas-Old Ripley firefighters! House fire on Simpson Street. Repeat. House fire on Simpson Street.”

“Gotta go,” I said. I ran to my car and took off. I got to the firehouse in minutes. Another firefighter, Tom Smith, and the chief were waiting. “Don, Tommy, take truck 253. Roll!” he ordered. “The rest of the guys will be right behind you.” As the first on the scene, our job was to make sure everyone was out of the house, locate the nearest hydrant (消防栓), and then wait for backup.

A small crowd had gathered in front of number 907 when we got there. They watched the fire in panic. Thick black smoke could be seen pouring from the one-story house’s open front door. A large man burst through the door, red eyes streaming with tears. “Please hurry!” he called. “My boy’s still in there. I couldn’t get to him!”

There was no time to wait for backup. I left Tommy outside and rushed into the house.

“Anyone here?” I shouted. No answer. I searched every inch of the first two rooms. No child. The fire had grown so fierce by then. It seemed that the roof would collapse at any time. All at once a vision was put into my head—that father begging us to save his child. I mustn’t give up. Not today, I thought. There still might be a chance.

Suddenly I heard a weak cry from the next room.

It was a special Father’s Day, not only for me, but also for the boy, his father and my daughter.

I had always enjoyed living in my flat on the top floor of a Victorian building in Wimbledon. Being so high up made me feel safe and secure, and I enjoyed wonderful views across the tree tops. I had never expected that I would experience a fire in the flat.

One night I went to sleep as usual after setting my alarm clock for 7 am and switching off the bedside light. A few hours later, I woke up puzzled. I could smell smoke and I could see that the bedroom was extremely dark. Then I realized the room was so dark because it was filled with smoke. I immediately left my bed and stood by the door. I was in panic. I was also convinced that I had somehow caused the fire without knowing it. I thought, “What will my neighbors think? I must get rid of the smoke before it gets into their flats.”

I managed to make my way to the curtains and tried to draw them open. This simple everyday act proved quite beyond me. When I finally opened the window, I saw all my neighbors standing on the lawn below, tightly wrapped up in their dressing gowns against the December cold. Then I realized it wasn’t me that had caused the fire. It was someone else.

Even though I had taken many fire awareness courses at work, I forgot everything I’d ever been taught at that time. My one instinct was to flee down the stairs.

“There’s a fire! Stay by the window!” someone shouted below the building. And that man’s words of warning stopped me and helped save my life. If I had opened my front door at the top of the stairwell to escape, the flames raging below would have been drawn upwards by the rush of oxygen and would have swept over me in an instant. I knew I should go to the kitchen and wait for help by the window there. I knew the firemen would save me using a ladder.

So I went to the kitchen.

Finally, the firemen arrived.

For years I took the bus to school and back from where we live in Pennsylvania. But when I got my license at 17, I would jump on any excuse to drive. Two weeks after I got my license, we had exams at school and I decided not to drive because I was tired from studying. That afternoon I sat on the bus and thought, “I can’t wait to go home and take a nap (小睡).”

For almost six months, we’d had the same driver. Every morning and afternoon he would say hi and chat a little. All the kids on the bus were from our school; there were about 30 of us, aged from 4 to 18. I’d talk with everyone and sometimes bring the younger ones sweets. I was kind of the bus mother and I enjoyed it.

The younger kids sat in the front and the high schoolers sat in the back; I sat in the middle. That afternoon I was sitting by the window next to a 13-year-old girl who was telling me about her day, when there was a loud thud (砰击声). I looked up to see the younger children standing and looking down towards the front of the bus. Our driver wasn’t at the wheel. He had fallen from his seat and his feet had come off the pedals (踏板). He was on the ground, shaking.

I was looking at this, thinking, “How am I going to do this?” Then I saw a car coming towards us – we were in the middle of the intersection. It was around 3pm, so there was a lot of traffic. We’d been stationary (不动的) at a red light but the bus started to move slowly, at about 5mph, on its own and started drifting into the opposite lane.

I instantly went into problem-solving mode.

An ambulance arrived within 5 minutes.

Night terror

In the middle of the night, as most of the residents slept, much of a 12-story Florida building collapsed, killing lots of people and sending survivors escaping for their lives. In this darkest time, however, the warmth and sparkles of humanity stood out.

Alfredo Lopez and his wife, Marian, were asleep when the first thundering explosion made them awake at 1:14 am on Thursday, June 24. Moments later, a second boom, much louder than the first, shook the bed in their apartment on the fifth floor.

Alfredo rushed to waken his 20-year-old son, Michael, urging him to get dressed, before running to the balcony window. The swirling (旋动) dust and ash made it difficult to see only a few feet in any direction. “All I could see was just white dust, very thick. I could barely see the balcony,” he recalled. The lights cut out and the emergency alarm came on, warning the residents of the Champlain Towers South to move out. They rushed out and ran downstairs, as they realized before the world knew of the disaster, they were fighting to survive by themselves.

On the same fifth floor, in unit 111, a two-bedroom oceanfront apartment, Gabriel Nir, 7 years old and his 5-year-old sister, Chani, all heard the first thunderous noise. Their parents were out of town for some business, leaving their grandma, Garfinkel, who was asleep, to look after them. They panicked and confused, and after a while, they began to realize what had happened and try to make their grandma wake up. Together they walked to the door, only to find it jammed in the twisted doorframe. All measures taken, they had no choice but to shout, “Help! Help! The door won’t open.”, wishing people outside would hear and come to help.

“I heard people screaming. I have to go back to make sure everyone’s OK,” Michael yelled to his mother.

“I can’t make it. I’m 88. I’ve had a good life,” Garfinkel shouted, pointing at the walker (助行架).

Maisie and her car

Maisie usually goes swimming every morning before she goes to work. She leaves home at 5:30 am and drives to the swimming pool. She swims for an hour, and then hurries home for a shower and breakfast before she leaves for work at 8 am.

One Thursday morning, Maisie drove to the swimming pool as usual. She did not feel happy because she had a quarrel (争吵) on the phone with a co-worker the night before. She was still thinking about it and feeling so depressed that she did not want to go to work.

“Swimming may make me feel better. Come on,” Maisie said to herself. She parked the car opposite the sports center, took her sports bag from the back seat and walked to the building, forgetting to put on the handbrake (手刹).

While Maisie was swimming, a strong wind came and the car started to move. Very, very slowly the car moved out of the car park and across the road. It was early morning so the road was empty. There were no people walking around and no other cars on the road.

A few moments later, there was a sudden announcement on the loud speaker system. “Is the owner of a white Honda, number plate XJY436, in the pool?”

“XJY436! That’s my car,” thought Maisie. She swam to the side of the pool and climbed out. A lifeguard was standing next to the pool. Maisie ran up to him. ”That’s my car, “she said.” Did I leave the lights On? “No,” said the lifeguard, laughing. “Come and see.” Maisie followed the lifeguard out to the entrance of the sports center. “Look!” said the lifeguard when he pointed to the big entrance door. “Oh, no!” shouted Maisie. Her car was in the doorway. It was half inside the building and half outside. No one could go in or out of the sports center.

“Do you have your car key?” asked the lifeguard.

Maisie’s entire face instantly turned red.

Sean turned to look at his father, who was standing confidently on his new sailboat. Sean hated it that he couldn’t remember all of the sailing terms (术语) and skills his dad taught him. However, he pushed himself to ask, expecting his father’s response. “Which way are we turning?” “We’re coming about” his father said firmly. “That means we are turning into the wild. That way.” His father said, pointing to the right side of the boat. “Time for you to make a bowline knot (单套结)!”

Sean reached for a rope and tried his best to make one. His father had taught him the skill dozens of times, which could not only help moor (停泊) the boat but also save everyone in emergency. After practising several times, he finally knew how to do this correctly and quickly. He looked back at his father, hoping for a praise. But his dad was looking up at the sail (帆), not at him. He untied the knot and dropped the rope under the seat, filled with a sense of loss.

He looked up at the sky. Dark clouds gathered overhead and the wind began blowing. “Hey, Sean, come and take the wheel for a minute!” His father ordered. Sean didn’t want to, not did he want to see that disappointing look on his father’s face. “Uh, year!” Sean locked the sail in place and went to keep the wheel.

“Just keep her going straight. I’m going to check something.” Sean held the wheel tightly. Suddenly, the wind changed direction. The boat shook sharply and even tipped (倾斜) to one side. “Dad!” he called, but no response. He didn’t see him anywhere on the sailboat. Just then, the water became calm a little. Sean caught the chance to look the wheel quickly. He looked out at the huge crashing waves. Then he saw it--- a flash of a figure.

Much to his surprise, the figure in the water was his dad!

He tied one end of the rope onto the boat and aimed the bowline knot at his dad.