When the ladder was up, the whole truck sat on huge outriggers that we had lowered on either side, and the only reason we even had the truck was that there was a university residence in the town, called Tower, which was tall enough to need it. Dave Hennessey and I were the only firefighters who hadn’t certified on the ladder, who hadn’t climbed all the way to the top with the ladder fully extended. It was late summer of my first year, maybe three or four months in the department, and the certification was critical to be able to keep fighting fires, even to stay with the department. The idea was that you had to be tested on every piece of equipment. Dave was a little younger than me, but bigger across the shoulders, and heavier—stronger, too, with a more traditional build for a firefighter. Smiling and good-natured most of the time, he joined up at the same time I did, but he was only fresh out of high school, sandy hair parted in the middle, with the kind of eagerness that made him an easy target for the other guys.
What do You think about Burning Down The House (2008)?
