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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 temporarily in charge while Captain Albergray was on vacation in Chapter 10?
(a) Lieutenant Collins.
(b) Artie Merritt.
(c) Lieutenant Stack.
(d) Bill Valenzio.

2. Why were the five adults and two children unable to escape the burning building?
(a) Because the fire escape was broken.
(b) Because a partial roof collapse blocked their way.
(c) Because the fire on the floors below stopped them.
(d) Because the doors were locked from the outside to kep drug addicts out.

3. Why did Smith think his school principal and mother were wrong to lament his dropping out?
(a) He wanted to get out of New York.
(b) He believed school was a waste of time.
(c) He did not think he was good enough at academics.
(d) He believed he'd make a lot of money working instead.

4. Why were conditions in the fire station cold in April?
(a) Because a garage door had been open and broken for months
(b) Because the station's heating system was broken.
(c) Because budget cuts caused the firefighters to forgo the use of the heating system.
(d) Because there was a hole in the roof of the station.

5. How did Smith try to impress people after dropping out of school?
(a) By claiming he planned to become manager of the store one day.
(b) By claiming he was saving money to tour Europe.
(c) By claiming he was studying business.
(d) By claiming he was studying to be a botanist.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the naked man on Southern Boulevard wield as a weapon?

2. What film does Smith reference when discussing the station's housekeeping chores in Chapter 10?

3. What is the Irish way of making tea, as described by Smith in Chapter 7?

4. Why were the teens carrying the items out of the Simpson Street apartment building?

5. What did Smith see in Fireman Billy-o as he held the baby who died in the fire?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were the men uneasy as they begin the training drill in Chapter 6?

2. What was Smith's attitude toward the man hanging around at the Union Avenue fire in Chapter 10? How did he feel about the man screaming that the firemen were not taking fire victims to the hospital because they didn't care about black people?

3. Does Smith feel that society has become more violent over the years, and if so, why?

4. What were Smith's initial views of firefighting before he joined the department?

5. In what key way does Smith say the modern firefighting exams are different from those of the past?

6. What did Smith find most frustrating about the attack on the firefighters (the dropped garbage can) in Chapter 8?

7. Did Smith's wife appreciate her husband's devotion to his job?

8. How did Dennis Smith feel as a child when the welfare inspector visited his family?

9. Describe the character of Lieutenant Collins.

10. Why were some of the firefighters unwilling to help out at the department's occasional parties for neighborhood kids?

(see the answer keys)

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