View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did firefighters find at the scene of the fire at the Kelly Street apartments?
(a) Burned food on a stove.
(b) Three gas cans, pointing to arson.
(c) Faulty wiring.
(d) Molotov cocktails.

2. What is the term Smith used to describe a challenging fire?
(a) A capital "F" fire.
(b) A smoker.
(c) A worker.
(d) A three-bagger.

3. Why did the John Birch Society want a local teacher in Washingtonville fired?
(a) Because they felt the teacher was ineffective.
(b) Because the teacher was an outspoken opponent of the war in Vietnam.
(c) Because the teacher allowed a student to draw an American flag surrounded by question marks.
(d) Because the teacher was an active union member.

4. To which kind of call was the firefighter responding when he was killed, prior to the events in Chapter 2?
(a) An auto accident.
(b) A malicious false alarm.
(c) A burning apartment building.
(d) A stabbing.

5. How do firefighters get enough oxygen when a building is thick with smoke?
(a) By using oxygen tanks.
(b) By crawling on their stomachs to reach the oxygen at floor level.
(c) By first clearing out some of the smoke.
(d) By breaking out windows to get oxygen in.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the national magazine started by Smith after writing the memoir?

2. How were the men rescued during the factory fire?

3. Who was the second injured person found by firefighters at the Home and Simpson streets intersection, and how was he injured?

4. In Smith's description, how does the life of a firefighter differ from that of other city workers?

5. What board game were the firemen playing in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Smith describe the fire marshals sent to investigate the Intervale Avenue fire?

2. What did the firemen mean by the term "tough shit" during their discussion of the arson fire in Chapter 1?

3. Why was Smith reminded of the sun when he entered the burning room on Forest Avenue in Chapter 5?

4. What did Dennis Smith observe about the attitude of the driver who hit the young boy and was then beaten by the crowd in Chapter 2?

5. What was Firefighter Jim's reaction to news of the arrests of Vietnam War protesters in Chapter 3?

6. Why, according to Dennis Smith, were so many false alarms were pulled in the South Bronx?

7. How did the firefighters feel about the deaths of the two teenagers in the Intervale Avenue arson fire in Chapter 1?

8. Why did the firemen tease Billy Valenzio about his strength?

9. What was Dennis Smith's main concern about writing about his fellow firefighters?

10. How did Smith's mother's attitude toward work reflect an old-fashioned way of viewing labor in New York City?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,050 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample