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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 do firefighters get enough oxygen when a building is thick with smoke?

2. Who was responsible for the most malicious false alarms?

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

4. What do arsonists sometimes do when they leave the scene of a fire?

5. What did Fireman Big Van of Ladder 42 drink once he quit drinking beer?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Smith reminded of the sun when he entered the burning room on Forest Avenue in Chapter 5?

2. In what ways does Smith view the old-style machine politics as preferable to the current system?

3. As the fire truck responded to the call on Wilkens Avenue in Chapter 3, what experience did Smith flash back to?

4. Why did the firemen tease Billy Valenzio about his strength?

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

6. What is Smith's view of the political leaders of New York City?

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

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

9. What did the firemen do when they got the second teenager out of the Intervale Avenue apartment building, which was torched in the arson attack 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

Smith was extremely busy with work and family, but managed to carve out time to take daily notes so that he could write a book. In what ways do you think the act of writing this memoir helped Smith process the horrible scenes he frequently witnessed? Do you think that writing about his painful experiences gave him a way of working out his feelings about them? Could the book be considered a form of therapy?

Essay Topic 2

"Report From Engine Co. 82" was the first full-length book providing ordinary citizens with a glimpse into the insular world of firemen, and it became a runaway bestseller. Smith speaks of being thrilled about the opportunity to share his life with ordinary citizens. Why do you think the book proved so popular? Were people hungry for information about the lives of people they only saw during times of crisis? Do you think the book changed any opinions about the work firefighters do?

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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