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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. Why did one firefighter want to start up a collection at the station in Chapter 7?
(a) To replace the dishwasher and improve their unsterile eating conditions.
(b) To replace the refrigerator.
(c) To pay for the firefighter's medical care.
(d) To replace the stove and improve eating conditions.

2. Why were the teens carrying the items out of the Simpson Street apartment building?
(a) They were carrying them out of their own apartment for safety.
(b) They were carrying them out for another resident.
(c) They stole them from another resident.
(d) They had bought them from another resident.

3. Why were merchants good to firefighters (i.e., by giving them discounts) under the old system?
(a) They were required to offer discounts to firemen.
(b) They expected the firemen to be forgiving during inspections.
(c) They wanted to get faster response times during emergencies.
(d) They expected the firemen to protect them from arson.

4. What did the cockroaches symbolize in Smith's view?
(a) Disease.
(b) Poverty.
(c) Fear.
(d) Uncleanliness.

5. What one gift did Smith want more than anything as a child?
(a) A Schwinn bicycle.
(b) A television in his own room.
(c) A skateboard.
(d) A remote-control car.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did the Fire Department persist in holding parties for children who regularly harassed firefighters?

2. How old was Smith when he filled out an application to the fire department?

3. What did the woman do to the man whose Intervale Avenue apartment burned in Chapter 7?

4. Why was Pat, Dennis' wife, willing to accept his remaining in a dangerous profession?

5. What did the newspaper article say a firefighter rescued following a rubbish fire?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why had the system of safety inspections changed so radically?

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

3. Describe the character of Lieutenant Collins.

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

5. Did Smith feel that the rich New Yorkers mentioned in Chapter 7, who were raising money to bail out Black Panthers, had any real understanding of need?

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

7. How did Smith distinguish between acts of shoplifting and looting within poor neighborhoods?

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

9. In what way does it seem as though Smith--despite his hatred for cockroaches--actually respects them?

10. Despite the death of the baby in the last fire in the book, Smith was more committed than ever to remaining a firefighter. What did he see at that fire that reinforced his tremendous loyalty to his fellow firemen?

(see the answer keys)

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