Our hero. Yeah, that's him in the cheap blue gloves.

The Scene:
The living room, after daycare and before dinner.

The Crew:
Firefighter Lil E as played by Lil E
Firefighter Grandma as played by Grandma
Firefighter Grandpa as played by Grandpa
Firefighter LADY! as played by Mommmmmmmy, that's you!

The Costume:
Lil E in full firefighter gear -- fire hat, fire coat, fire boots, bright blue cheapy winter gloves from KMart, safety goggles from play tool set, cardboard paper towel tube for a hose.

The Situation:
A fire, of course, during which every stuffed animal and "baby" must be freed from the imaginary flames and overwhelming smoke in Lil E's room at my parents' house. Thank God, Baby Tiger Woods is safe, albeit without pants and covered in caked-on soot (OK, covered in the daily grime of being dragged all over the city by sticky little nasty germified preschooler hands and that the firefighter will not let me clean more thoroughly than baby wipes and a spritz of industrial-strength organic scrub will allow).

The Flashpoint Action:
We are each given assignments to assist in the rescue -- holding flashlights, demonstrating the stop-drop-roll procedure, administering CPR and First Aid to the babies, carrying the other end of the cardboard tube hose (this is trickier than you might imagine as there's not much grip space after the firefighter tucks the tube under his arm for maximum portability).

The Emotions:
Burning high. Intense. Focused. Serious. No room for jokes without reprimand, as in, "Grandma Firefighter! This is a serious rescue!" snap-to for the giggling grandmother holding the sooty baby doll on the loveseat.

The Interruption:
A call from Firefighter Uncle Seth, who has phoned in for a status report from Firefighter Lil E. And STAT.

The Conversation:
Firefighter Uncle Seth: Hello, firefighter! What are you doing?

Firefighter Lil E: Ummm, I just rescued a baby from the big fire.

Firefighter Uncle Seth: Good job!

Firefighter Lil E: Now I'm hanging out with my best friend Firefighter Grandpa, figuring out all this firefighter equipment. OK, BYE! LOVE YOU!

The Extinguisher:
And with that, the sweetest acknowledgment a boy playing a very serious protector of lives and safety could give one of his willing-play-participant grandparents, especially in the midst of pretend crises and imaginary rescues of highly flammable toys, the fire's out.

But really, it's not over. There are always fires around here to put it out. It's just good to know that in the center of all that heat, the kid's got a trusted best friend and cardboard tube hose holder on his crew.