Ghetto Firefighter

by Harry J. Ahearn

When Harry Ahearn's Ghetto Firefighter was first published nearly thirty years ago, it quickly became one of the most popular books ever published about the New York City Fire Department. After all, fighting Fires in New York was unlike fighting fires anywhere else on earth - and fighting Fires in Harlem was unlike fighting fires anywhere else in New York City.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Einar Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

How does a book earn “classic” status? I have high expectations of such books, but in this case my expectations were not met. It’s not just that Harry Ahearn wrote Ghetto Firefighter in 1977, which was a different era in urban America and in the fire service. Or maybe that is the problem. His portrayals of FDNY employees, traditions, and culture have not weathered the test of time. His firefighters become caricatures or stereotypes in his text, betraying the possibility that they are fellow humans with emotions, vulnerabilities, and challenges like everyone else. To be fair, the firefighter-as-stoic-cowboy myth remains prevalent today thanks to Hollywood and knuckle-dragging self-destructive manifestations of masculinity. For me, however, reading these pages was as uncomfortable as reading primary sources about ignorant or childish slaves, scalp-hungry savages, or any test that uses the term “The White Man.” There are far better books about firefighters in different eras such as those three l’ve recently read and reviewed by Caroline Paul, Zac Unger, and Charles Kenney.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally don't read fiction but when I do its fire fiction! Ahearn's stories are obviously very close to reality and based on experience. I liked it.