Ghetto fire fighter

by Harry J. Ahearn

This book is not a memoir, but rather a fictionalized account of FDNY firefighters working at a fictitious Engine 5/Ladder 8 in the Bronx. The real Engine 5 and Ladder 8 are quartered separately in Manhattan. The story is set during the “war years” of the early 1970s when the Bronx was burning as well as overrun with crime and poverty. It was written by a retired FDNY Lieutenant who served in the Bronx and experienced the war years first hand. The author draws a very gritty picture of the squalor that surrounds the firehouse and the wretched community that languishes these. He also draws a less than flattering picture of the men of Engine 5/Ladder 8. The book is more about these colorful men than about the fires they fought and the horrors they faced protecting a minority community that resented and disliked the predominately white FDNY.

156 pages, 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.