This was one of those extension ladders with a rope in the middle to pull the extension up with. Six firemen could not get it to work for some reason. I began to get worried at this point, because smoke and water started pouring over the roof as the firemen in the front of the house began trying to douse the fire. It's just smoke. I'm thinking about stories I've written in the past about fires.
More people die from smoke inhalation than burns.
I'm now completely enshrouded in smoke. I can't see anything, and can barely breath. At this point, someone shines a flashlight up at a point on the roof and suggests that I go there and let myself down to the short ladder, because the other ladder is not working. I tried to comply, but there was nothing to hold onto. I have a flash of memory.