A very personal memoir of the author's thirty-eight years as a Detroit firefighter, moving up through the ranks to become Chief. The gradual fall of Detroit and the terrible difficulties the firefighters were forced to endure as budget cuts and white flight (in which the firefighters themselves participated after suing for the right to live outside the city) is told quite humbly and with an undercurrent of humor. More about the politics of the department than the techniques, it was still an interesting read.
Interesting quotes: "If it is true that a nondrinker lives less than a drinker, then it is also true that a non-firefighter lives longer than a firefighter. According to the experts, firefighters have a ten-year-shorter life expectancy because of all the smoke, chemicals, and dangers they face. So firefighters should enjoy a few drinks daily. Losing seven years of your life is better than ten. Where the heck is my pea can?"
"Many injury letters started out with the words “While sliding the pole at 0735 hours, I twisted my knee” or “I twisted my ankle.” In fact, there were so many injuries while sliding down the pole at seven thirty in the morning that the Michigan Department of Safety got involved. Then somebody determined that the poles were dangerous and must be removed. This became a big argument with firefighters who loved the poles and wanted to keep them. They were a symbol of Detroit firefighting, just like the red trucks and our traditional helmets."
"Sometimes people will do things like throw out a mattress to soften their fall. And it can be dangerous for firefighters. We have had firefighters killed by jumpers landing on them."
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