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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Smith feel when first approached about writing a memoir of firefighting?

2. What orders did the doctors give Smith after his injury from the Prospect Avenue fire?

3. What was the name of the strong fireman who single-handedly replaced the hose at the end of Chapter 5?

4. How long did Smith take off to recover from the throat damage he sustained during the Prospect Avenue fire in Chapter 3?

5. What was the Kelly Street apartment landlord charged with after the fire?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe Fireman Jim Gintel's personality.

3. Besides the risks to firefighters, what does Dennis Smith believe is a real risk of malicious false alarms?

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

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

6. Why does Smith tell his mother that he feels compelled to continue working in the dangerous South Bronx neighborhood?

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

8. Why does Smith say city workers were fleeing cities to live in the suburbs?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Although willing to run into burning buildings, Smith was nevertheless unhinged by the sight of cockroaches and was unable to remain in a roach-infested room for long. What images were conveyed to Smith by the sight of the roaches and why was he unable to ignore them? How did his knowledge of cockroaches provide him with a deeper understanding of the conditions in which the South Bronx residents live?

Essay Topic 2

Smith met numerous neighborhood children during his years of service--some of them eventually fell prey to the streets, while for others, the future was not yet known. Does Smith feel that society at large can help to ensure that neglected children in poor neighborhoods do not fall victim to the violence and depression around them? What does he believe is society's role in reaching out to needy children who are being ignored by the families?

Essay Topic 3

There were several incidents in the book in which firefighters were attacked by the very neighbors they were trying to help. The book took place at a time in which young people were questioning all authority, especially that of police. Why were firefighters seen as authority figures not to be trusted? Did Smith view this as a logical view of firemen or as a confusing result of desperate poverty?

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