Out of the Fire

TONY MORETTI HAS HIT BOTTOM. He’s tried several occupations in the fifteen years since he graduated from college, but this one is his biggest gamble yet. He’s been accepted to the firefighting training program at Reynolds International Airport in Central Pennsylvania. This means uprooting not only himself, but his wife, Lisa.

Once there, though, Tony finds it’s not the perfect fit he’d hoped for. The physicality humbles him, and he struggles, both with his skills and with the other firefighters in his platoon. His marriage feels the strain, too, even before he finds a new running partner in operations manager Allie Robinson.

Tony’s bosses give him three months to fully commit himself to his job and his skillset as a firefighter, and as he does, he learns new things about himself, about what he’s been looking for, about who he wants to be—and who the job challenges him to become.

Through a series of escalating incidents unique to life as an aviation firefighter, Tony is tested by situations unlike anything he’s experienced. He will need all of his skill, strength, and courage to meet what’s coming.

B. A. Colella, PhD, is a lifelong resident of Western Pennsylvania. He blends his extensive background in aviation and firefighting to craft Out of the Fire, a fast-paced, high-stakes tale of personal and professional adversity in an airport setting. An avid runner, military history buff, amateur photographer, classic rock fan, and 1970s Chevy Camaro enthusiast, he enjoys visiting Pittsburgh's many parks, coffee shops, libraries, and bookstores with his wife, Karen.