Beneath the Flames
Praise for Beneath the Flames
“Renz draws on his years of experience as a firefighter to bring a hardscrabble authenticity to his novel. He packs the tale with plenty of action and a lot of heart. His firefighting sequences are detailed and thrilling, placing readers right in front of the flames. His prose is clean and, at times, poetic...” —Kirkus Reviews
“Gregory Renz’s new novel is a triumph of poignancy, compassion, and restraint. In it, a man’s regret is transformed to triumph.” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the bestselling novel, The Deep End of the Ocean
“In his debut novel, Gregory Lee Renz gives us an action-packed story of a Wisconsin farm boy turned Milwaukee firefighter, but that’s not all. Beneath the Flames lies a tender journey of compassion, redemption, and community that will stick with you for a long time.” —Ann Voss Peterson, author of over thirty novels with millions of books in print all over the globe.
Winner of the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award
“Beneath the Flames is an action-packed debut novel with something for every reader: suspense, romance, friendship, forgiveness, family, and more. A novel that like its protagonist, relentlessly presses on into fiery and controversial terrain where many other writers fear to tread. —NICKOLAS BUTLER, author of THE HEARTS OF MEN and LITTLE FAITH
“Gregory Lee Renz’s Beneath the Flames tells a vivid tale of Mitch Garner’s journey from the farm to inner city Milwaukee. A young man caught between the national horror of 9/11 and personal tragedy becomes a firefighter in a neighborhood wracked with poverty and violence.” —Parks Kugle, Managing Editor for Lumina Literary Journal.
“Renz’s skill as author is evident in the depth of each character and their dialogue and mannerisms—so much so that we feel as though we’ve met them all in real life. This is a book with serious themes and subjects; suicide, racism, gang violence, domestic abuse, sexual assault, murder and more. But this is also a story about hope, love, and family. Renz handles them all with a brave pen that isn’t squeamish with the tough parts.” —Valerie Biel, author of the award winning book series Circle of Nine
“Gregory Lee Renz applies first-hand experience as a decorated firefighter to his searing, emotional debut novel Beneath the Flames. With Renz, you are in the hands of a reliable guide and deft writer as he captures the fraternal bond of this unique band of heroes...On one level, Beneath the Flames contains moving life lessons, sprinkled with messages about friendship, relationships, race and the perils of a dangerous profession. It’s about a personal pursuit of excellence, the obstacles in achieving it, and coming to terms with sometimes falling short. It’s about rooting for the good and having faith in convincing, uplifting characters.” —BookTrip Reviews
“This story vividly transports us to the life of firefighters and the harrowing situations they face almost every day. It focuses on one fireman, Mitch Garner, and his growth as a human being. It also gives us a glimpse of life in the inner city. It illustrates the burden of memories that can traumatize an individual, but how facing them one grows and heals. Greg Renz is a masterful storyteller who keeps your attention from the beginning of the story to its end.” —Tania Friedman, Retired Administrator, Harvard Medical School
“It would be too easy to say that Beneath the Flames is filled with burning passion, but it’s the truth. One would expect a novel about a firefighter to be full of fire and flames, and Renz doesn’t disappoint. However, to the reader’s great delight, he also takes the burning within, to a firefighter who seeks to set things to rights and to put out the most dangerous internal flame of all - guilt. Renz’s gripping and sensitive story-telling will take the reader along with Mitch Garner as he walks his road from young farmer and volunteer firefighter to professional firefighter in the inner-city streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Renz is the rare writer who can create action-packed scenes and the tenderest of intimacies with the same talented hand.” —Kathie Giorgio, critically acclaimed author of four novels, two story collections and a poetry chapbook
“Beneath the Flames is not your typical debut novel. The topics covered are both timely and timeless, giving us some much-needed light in very dark times. The protagonist compels us not only to be better, but to do better. The prose is sharp and modern, the themes and subplots are thought-provoking, and the characters will stick with you for days after you finish reading. In a world where superheroes dominate the box office week after week, it is refreshing to see real heroes performing real miracles. Renz has truly delivered a wholly unique story that will simultaneously bring you to tears and inspire you to make a difference.” —Jeff Hill, faculty member of The Writers Hotel Conference in New York
“Outstanding! Beneath the Flames is an intimate combination of love, race, life as a Milwaukee Firefighter from outside the city, and life as an African American family, all trying to coexist in crazy and chaotic urban and rural environments. This is a MUST READ for anyone in the fire service or anyone wanting to get into the fire service!” —City of Milwaukee Fire Chief Douglas A. Holton Sr.
“A mesmerizing debut novel, written from the heart with a passion and authenticity that leaps out and grabs you on the very first page.” —Joanna Elm, author of Scandal (1996) and Delusion (1997)
“As a retired fire captain, Gregory Lee Renz artfully weaves in gritty scenes taken from actualfire-fighting tragedies that will leave you breathless. Beneath the Flames is one novel you simply can’t put down.” —Kristin Oakley, author of the award-winning novel Carpe Diem, Illinois
“In Beneath the Flames, Gregory Lee Renz weaves together seemingly disparate story threads— the unflinching account of a rookie fire fighter, the hardships of maintaining a family farm, the culture clash of a young man trading rural life for the inner city, and a love story. Tying these threads together is the story at the heart of this book: a man haunted by his past and trying to make amends. With great compassion and skillful writing, Renz shows us the human side of a tragedy and reminds us that when life doesn’t turn out as expected, you can build yourself a new life.” —Jen Rubin, author of We Are Staying: Eighty Years in the Life of a Family, a Store, and a Neighborhood
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
BENEATH THE FLAMES
(A novel)
Gregory Lee Renz
For Paula.
Our magical journey continues.
Foreword
I had the privilege of working with Greg while he worked for the Milwaukee Fire Department. He brings the experience of being a firefighter in an urban community to life for the readers. You will not have to have fire department experience to enjoy this book.
Without question, you will become emotionally involved with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat as you live through the trials and tribulations of the main character.
When Greg asked me to proof the book, my immediate reply was, “I am not a reader.” In fact, the last book of fiction I read was Member of the Gang, as a fifth grader. I obliged, but with hesitation because of my personal lack of motivation for reading. I truly started the task as a favor to my good friend.
My reading experience with Beneath the Flames was unbelievable. I laughed, I cried, and I related to almost every single experience that the main character endured. Experiences that did not relate to me, I recognized as experiences and hardships affecting firefighters under my command. The book has a sense of realism that hit home with this 34-year City of Milwaukee employee. Every single chapter kept me magnetized to the novel. For the first time since
the fifth grade, this reader enjoyed reading again.
I never looked at how long the book was or the number of chapters within the novel. As I read chapter by chapter, I found myself wanting to know the ending, but as I neared the ending, that desire was replaced by reluctance, because I truly did not want the experience to end.
Greg Renz, I was by your side when you earned induction into the Wisconsin Fire and Police Hall of Fame for your life-saving efforts at the North 67th Street fire.
You have put me by your side again with the words, stories, characters, and real-world experiences of Beneath the Flames. Thank You.
—Thomas M. Jones, Milwaukee Fire Department Battalion Chief
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This story was inspired by two adorable little girls, around five and eight years of age, who lived across from Milwaukee Fire Station Five at Thirteenth and Reservoir, an inner-city area referred to as “The Core.” I was assigned there as a firefighter for three years.
One night they showed up at the firehouse during the early morning hours. Their mother was being beaten by her boyfriend. She had sent them over to keep them out of danger. While we waited for the police, the girls and I talked. I learned a little of what their lives were like growing up in the crushing poverty and violence of the Core. They shared the disturbing details in an emotionless, matter-of-fact way as if this were simply the way of the world. For someone who grew up in a quiet middle-class neighborhood, this was unimaginable. I remember asking the girls whether they would be going to school after being up most of the night. They told me they were used to it and yes, they would go to school. No doubt, these would be two of the inner-city children we often saw sleeping during class when we visited schools.
Years later, I still wonder what their lives have been like. Have they escaped the cycle of poverty or are they two more victims of an unjust childhood?
—Gregory Lee Renz
Red Devil’s a ravenous bastard devoid of conscience. He’ll devour all
you hold dear and more. Dare to dance with him; he’ll add you to the ashes.
Chapter 1
Lunch couldn’t come soon enough. Mitch Garner had been mowing row after mind-numbing row of hay since early morning. His buzzing pager cut through the rumbling exhaust of the tractor. “All units respond to a report of smoke in the vicinity of 7600 County Q, north of Milroy. Repeat, all units respond—”
Mitch jammed the pager into his grungy overalls and sprinted to the milking parlor, leaving the moss-green John Deere 4020 in the middle of the half-mowed field. He stuck his head inside the parlor where his younger brother, eighteen-year-old Chris, was wiping down the teats of a cow. Mitch shouted over the hammering air compressor, “Hey, Chris, sounds like another grass fire out by the Hillenbrands. I gotta fly. Let Dad know.”
“Sure, I’ll tell him,” Chris said while slipping a set of four cylindrical teat cups onto a stomping cow. “Just don’t expect me to finish haying while you’re out playing with your hose.”
As he ran to his truck, Mitch’s thoughts turned to last Sunday’s potluck lunch at the Hillenbrands. Neighboring farm families had gathered to celebrate Maggie Hillenbrand’s fifth birthday. Mitch had trailered his old pony, Bert, to Maggie’s party as a surprise. When he had pulled to a stop, six pintsized children charged across the yard with Maggie out front. The flaxen-haired little girl jumped into his arms, hugging him hard around the neck. To the other children, she announced, “Mitchy’s gonna marry me when I grow up. Then Bert’ll be mine too. Just so you know.” Mitch smiled to himself at the image of her beaming face.
Mitch fishtailed his metallic-gray Dodge Cummins pick-up down the drive, spewing gravel. The truck lurched violently when the enormous tires hit pavement. His heart raced as the speedometer approached ninety. Chest-high rows of corn alongside the road blurred into carpets of green. Speeding to a scene was the best part of being a volunteer firefighter for the small town of Milroy, Wisconsin.
A half mile from the Hillenbrand farm, Mitch could already see dense black and gray columns of smoke rising over two tall silos, staining the blue sky. What smelled like a massive Saturday night bonfire, flooded through the truck’s air vents. Cold beads of sweat trickled down his spine. As the youngest member of the department, the only fires he’d fought were grass fires. Now he’d be “first-in” at a major structure fire.
Mitch rounded the corner to the Hillenbrand’s farm. Smoke billowed from the second-floor windows of the white Victorian farmhouse. He skidded the truck to a stop, making sure to leave room for fire rigs. Twelve-year-old Lydia Hillenbrand ran to him from the side of the house, her straggly red hair flying in all directions. Mitch sprang from the truck. Lydia clutched his arm, her body trembling, gasping for breath. “I can’t—find Maggie.”
“Where’s your folks?”
“In town.”
“When’s the last time you saw her?”
“I don’t know. I was in the barn, doing chores.”
Mitch planted his sweaty John Deere hat on her small head and attempted a reassuring smile. “Stay here.”
He ripped his firefighting gear from the aluminum cargo box in the truck bed. He stepped into the boots, pulled up the turnout pants, and snapped the red suspenders over his shoulders. His hands shook as he fastened the clasps of the canary-yellow Kevlar coat and strapped on the heavy helmet. He took a deep breath. “Where’s Maggie’s room?”
Lydia pointed at dark gray smoke raging from a second-floor window. “Maggie!”
The second-floor windows were too high to reach without a ladder. Mitch bolted into the old farmhouse. Light smoke on the first floor darkened to a dense haze as he climbed the stairs. Blackness engulfed the second-floor hallway.
“Maggie, you here?”
From far down the hallway, a tiny voice called out, “I’m scared.” Then coughing.
Thank God. “I’m coming.”
Mitch hunkered down and crawled into the darkness, keeping his nose and mouth close to the floor, trying to stay below the caustic blackness. The child’s terrified screams pierced the blinding smoke.
He fought to control his breathing. The smoke thickened. The foul soup caught in his throat, gagging him. His arms and legs grew heavy. Flickering lights exploded in his head. He was drowning in smoke. I have to get out. The child’s screams faded to a whimper, sending a chill through him. I should know what to do. Why can’t I think?
Sirens echoed through the darkness. He backed down the stairs and stumbled into daylight. Big Jim Nelson, a broad-shouldered captain, leapt from the cab of a crimson fire engine.
Mitch coughed hard, hacking black phlegm onto the ground. He drew in a raspy breath. “Maggie’s trapped on the second floor. We’ll need masks.”
Lydia stood at the edge of the yard with her hands on her head.
More trucks roared into the drive, splashing the house and barn with pulsating red and white lights. Sirens blared. Wide-eyed firefighters jumped from rigs as they rolled to a stop.
Jim called back to the others, “Get a line to the second floor. Me and Mitch are going in. Got a little girl up there. Start drafting from the pond. We’ll need water. And get a ladder up to the second floor.” He turned back to Mitch. “You okay?”
“Let’s go.” Mitch slung the mask harness onto his back, and they dashed into the burning home. At the top of the stairs, Mitch slid the facepiece into place and pulled the straps snug. The cold rubber cooled his sweating face. He opened the valve on the air bottle. The shhhhht—shhhhht—shhhhht of air coming into the mask calmed him. They pushed through the toxic smoke, past a burning room, to the end of the hallway and into Maggie’s bedroom.
“Maggie?” Mitch called into the dark, eerie stillness. Nothing.
Mitch and Jim crawled through the pitch-black room, sweeping the hardwood floor with their arms and legs. Nothing. They found the bed and frantically searched around and under it. Nothing. They retraced their search pattern. Nothing.
“Sure she’s here
?” Jim said.
“She’s gotta be here.”
Mitch ripped the blankets from the bed and flipped the mattress over. He thrashed around the room, colliding with nameless shapes. Where are you? He found the closet and dug through a pile of clothes on the floor. His hand brushed a tiny bare foot. A doll? He lifted the small figure to his facepiece and shouted, “Got her.”
Mitch cradled the limp child and ran into the hallway, pushing past firefighters who were dragging a hose line up the stairs. Two EMT’s were waiting when he burst onto the porch. Bob, a veteran, pulled Maggie from Mitch’s arms. The thick smoke had blackened her blond hair and smudged her face. Mitch’s stomach heaved. He stared into her serene face, willing her to open her bright blue eyes. “Is she breathing?”
Jim pulled him back. “C’mon, they got her. We need a second line on the fire.”
They ran to the rear of the fire engine where the pump operator piled hose on their shoulders. “Let me know when you want water,” he hollered over the roar of the engine.
They tramped back to the house, the heavy hose stretching behind them. Mitch led the way inside and up the stairs. Before they reached the top, the house began to shake. A low rumble intensified to a thunderous roar. Mitch stopped. Jim gave him a light shove. “Med Flight. She’s in good hands. Let’s go.”
A curtain of smoke swallowed them as they climbed the stairs. Garbled shouting rose above the crackle of the fire. They dropped to their hands and knees and crawled into the blackness, pulling hose with them. Barely visible through the smoke was the orange outline of a burning bed and dresser and the shadowy figures of three firefighters crouched low. Flames boiled up the wall, licking across the ceiling.