Tom was a fireman. He lived in Sheffield with his wife Emma and son Sam. He worked at the local fire station.
On Monday morning he went to the fire station and waited with the other firemen to see if anyone needed them to put out a fire. While they were waiting, they checked their equipment and made sure that the fire engine was always ready to go.
It had rained a lot in January and February, and it was hard to imagine that anything could catch fire. Everything was so wet.
When he got home on Monday night Sam asked him “Did you put out any fires today Dad?”
“No.”, he replied. “I think everything is too wet to burn”.
The same thing happened every day until Friday. Tom and the other firemen were cleaning the fire engine when suddenly the alarm bells started ringing, “Quick everyone, let’s find out where the fire is” Tom shouted.
The Fire Chief said “It’s not a fire Tom. It’s a flood. The river has burst its banks and some people are trapped in a house. The roads are flooded but I know that the fire engine can still get there”.
Tom jumped in the fire-engine with the other firemen and drove to the flooded area. When they got closer the water was much deeper, but the fire-engine could just make it. They quickly built a bridge using their ladders and rescued everyone in the building. Then they drove them back to dry land. The local TV station had set up their cameras and filmed the rescue.
When he got home on Friday night, Sam asked him “Did you put out any fires today Dad?”. Tom replied, “No fires today Sam. But switch the TV on and you’ll see me on the 6 o’clock News”
Waiting for a fire – Questions
Who does Tom live with?
Why does Tom think there are no fires?
What do the firemen do when they are waiting for a fire?
How did they rescue the trapped people?
What did Sam see on the TV news?
Practising English 