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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. How did Smith remember details for the book while working full-time?
(a) By simply relying on his memory.
(b) By writing daily.
(c) Byinterviewing fellow firefighters,
(d) By dictating into a tape recorder.

2. Where on his body did Fireman Bill Kelsey get burned while battling the Charlotte Street blaze?
(a) On his back.
(b) On his thigh.
(c) On his chest.
(d) On his left. arm.

3. What did Smith keep in his locker at the fire station?
(a) A battered book of Irish prose.
(b) A battered book of Yeats' poems.
(c) A battered book of Irish poetry.
(d) The collected works of James Joyce.

4. How did Smith feel when first approached about writing a memoir of firefighting?
(a) Concerned that he would be incapable of writing.
(b) Concerned that he did not know enough about firefighting.
(c) Convinced that people would never understand firefighters.
(d) Challenged by the act of writing the way climbers are challenged by mountains.

5. What was the average daily number of false alarms in New York City during the time period covered by the book?
(a) 50.
(b) 147.
(c) 100.
(d) 250.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did the plan not work out?

2. What is Washingtonville's main claim to historical significance?

3. What was wrong with the furnace room where the firefighters retreated for warmth during the Charlotte Street fire?

4. What happened to Dennis as a child involving cockroaches?

5. Who did the firefighters encounter while bringing the hose up the stairs of the burning apartment building on Fox Street?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. Why do firemen have to sometimes crawl on their bellies while in a burning building?

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

4. How was Firefighter Mike Carr killed?

5. What is Smith's view of the political leaders of New York City?

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

7. Why were the firefighters remaining at the scene of the fire on Forest Avenue (in Chapter 5) unsure of the names of the injured firemen?

8. What does Dennis Smith think should be done with people who pull malicious false alarms, and why?

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

10. Why do you think Dennis Smith found the act of writing the book as exciting as responding to fire calls?

(see the answer keys)

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