He was conscious.

That was all Brenda needed to see before she rushed to the ambulance, calling his name.

“Mom,” he answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m sorry.”

She kissed the top of his hair so fiercely the paramedic stepped back to give them room.

“You can apologize every day for the next ten years,” she told him.

“Right now, you just keep talking to me.”

Walter Bell came out next, walking slowly between two firefighters.