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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 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 had bought them from another resident.
(d) They stole them from another resident.

2. What was the cause of the fire the men responded to at Union and 166th Street in Chapter 10?
(a) Burning cigarette on a couch.
(b) Stove fire.
(c) Electrical fire.
(d) Arson.

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

4. What kind of living quarters did Dennis Smith grow up in?
(a) A townhouse in the Bronx.
(b) A single-family house in Flushing.
(c) A New York City tenement.
(d) A New York City high-rise studio apartment.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Smith say he disagreed with fellow firefighters' prejudices, but also understood them?

2. Why were the firefighters frustrated about budget issues?

3. Approximately how many children were at the ice cream party in Chapter 9?

4. Why did the firemen call for police assistance while battling the Fox Street fire in Chapter 8?

5. Why did Smith choose to transfer to Engine Co. 82?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Smith suggest that perhaps even with guidance, South Bronx resident Tina de Vega may still have ended up on drugs and prostituting herself?

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

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

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

5. How did the firefighters react to the call in Chapter 7 in which they tended to a man who almost overdosed on drugs?

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

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

8. Why did Smith think it was useless to argue with the sneering youths hanging around a fireman's car in Chapter 10?

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

10. Is the poverty seen by Dennis Smith in the South Bronx different than the poverty in which he grew up?

(see the answer keys)

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