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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the primary problem with New York City, in Smith's eyes?
(a) It is not integrated.
(b) It is simply too big.
(c) It is too poor.
(d) There are too many minorities.

2. 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.

3. What does Smith say computers can be used for in the firefighting field?
(a) Computers can help fire trucks find fires faster.
(b) Computers can be used to reduce response times.
(c) Computers can project how many fires will occur in a given day.
(d) Computers can help firefighters determine the best way to fight a fire.

4. What options did the firefighters have when they were trapped between the two blazes at the factory building?
(a) They could wait for another team to arrive or jump out the window.
(b) They had no options.
(c) They could jump out the windows or climb to the roof.
(d) They could all focus on one fire or split up and tackle both.

5. Which Irish writer did Smith discuss in his letter to the editor?
(a) James Joyce.
(b) Samuel Beckett.
(c) Oscar Wilde.
(d) William Butler Yeats.

6. Why did the plan not work out?
(a) Each company had a dramatic increase in calls.
(b) There was confusion about which company should respond to which fires.
(c) Engine Co. 82 had a dramatic increase in calls.
(d) Ladder Co. 31 had a dramatic increase in calls.

7. What caused the fire at Union Avenue, the first call Smith responded to after his return to work?
(a) Arson.
(b) Food burning on a stove.
(c) Children playing with matches.
(d) Faulty wiring.

8. What were the "high incidence hours" that Tactical Control Unit 712 became responsible for?
(a) 3 p.m. and 1 a.m.
(b) Noon and 10 p.m.
(c) 6 p.m. and 4 a.m.
(d) 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.

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

10. Approximately how many firefighters died each year in New York at the time the book was written?
(a) Eight.
(b) Five.
(c) Twenty.
(d) Three.

11. What did the firefighters find on Freeman Street during one of the calls in Chapter 3?
(a) A car accident.
(b) A man injured in a fight.
(c) A burning store.
(d) A burning car.

12. What happened to several firefighters (including Smith) fighting a blaze at a two-story factory building?
(a) The roof caved in.
(b) A fire broke out behind them.
(c) The floor gave away.
(d) The windows began breaking.

13. For which time period did Smith work as a firefighter in the South Bronx?
(a) 1962-1969.
(b) 1969-1976.
(c) 1966-73.
(d) 1960-67.

14. How did Smith view the Kelly Street fire after the culprit was found?
(a) An example of ironic justice.
(b) A preventable crime.
(c) An example of divine justice.
(d) An example of the real devil getting away and the children being victimized.

15. How does Smith describe his political leanings?
(a) Democratic.
(b) Moderate.
(c) Republican.
(d) Libertarian.

Short Answer Questions

1. Approximately what percentage of the fire department's calls were for actual fires?

2. According to Smith, how should kids who pull malicious false alarms be treated?

3. In what town did Smith live while working in the South Bronx?

4. Why did the firefighters have a difficult time getting into one of the Kelly Street apartments?

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

(see the answer keys)

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