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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who was responsible for the most malicious false alarms?
(a) Criminals.
(b) Children.
(c) Teenagers.
(d) Adults.

2. Where was the last false alarm of the day called from, at the end of Chapter 5?
(a) Long Island Road.
(b) Boston Road.
(c) Manhattan Road.
(d) Trenton Road.

3. What injury did the young Hispanic boy suffer during the dinner time call to Home and Simpson streets?
(a) A broken neck.
(b) A broken arm.
(c) Abrasions and bruises.
(d) A broken leg.

4. What kind of tool did the firefighters use to break down the door during the Kelly Street fire?
(a) Sullivan tool.
(b) Mulligan tool.
(c) Donegan tool.
(d) Halligan tool.

5. In which city did Smith serve?
(a) Boston.
(b) Los Angeles.
(c) Chicago.
(d) New York City.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did the firefighter die in the previous incident mentioned in Chapter 2?

2. How did Smith view the firefighters he wrote about in the book compared to firefighters across the country?

3. To which publication did Dennis Smith write a letter that caught the attention of editors?

4. What were the three young men doing in the empty Kelly Street apartment building?

5. How does Smith envision false alarms occurring in richer neighborhoods?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did the attack on Firefighter Nick Riso (a brick was thrown at him in Chapter 3) make Smith feel?

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

4. Why did Artie think the 20th century should be called the "Great Zap"?

5. How does the fire department announce the death of a fellow firefighter in the line of duty?

6. Explain why the landlord of the Intervale Avenue apartment building wanted the place torched.

7. Why did some of the men defend Chief Marks despite the fact that he was known for yelling at the firefighters?

8. Describe how fireman Jim Stack fought the apartment fire at 1284 Fox in Chapter 3.

9. 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?

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

(see the answer keys)

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