One Foot in the Black

by Kurt Kamm

One Foot in the Black tells the coming-of-age story of a young wildland firefighter. At eighteen, Greg Kowalski, leaves an abusive home in Michigan for California to become a helitack (helicopter attack) wildland firefighter. He finds a new family in fire crew but suffers the loss of his captain and mentor while fighting a major burn on a mountainside. In time, Greg comes to terms with the death of his captain but has greater difficulty overcoming his abusive father’s influence on his life.

ONE FOOT IN THE BLACK is a position on the fireline that is next to an area already burned ("the black") It is at once the most dangerous place--right at the edge of the flames--but also a safe zone for immediate escape

This book has become a favorite of wildland fire crews, and other firefighters and first responders.

The Kindle edition also includes some color pictures at the back of the book.

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2012

About the author

About Kurt Kamm
Malibu resident Kurt Kamm has used his contact with CalFire, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and the ATF, as well as his experience in several devastating local wildfires, to write fact-based firefighter mystery novels. He has attended classes at El Camino Fire Academy and trained in wildland firefighting, arson investigation and hazardous materials response. He is currently riding with Los Angeles County Fire Department’s famed urban search and rescue task force. He is a graduate of the ATF Citizen’s Academy
One of the Malibu fires, the 60 mile-per-hour Santa Ana wind-driven Canyon Fire, burned to his front door and destroyed the homes of several neighbors. Kamm said the lessons he learned from the County Fire Department while writing his books helped him save his home.
Kurt Kamm has built an avid fan base among first responders. Each of his firefighter mysteries features a firefighter in a particular discipline (wildland, arson investigation, paramedic, hazardous material response, and search and rescue). His first novel, One Foot in the Black (2008) has become a favorite of firefighters. Subsequent novels, Red Flag Warning: A Serial Arson Mystery (Aberdeen Bay, 2010) and Code Blood (MCM Publishing, 2012) have won numerous fiction awards (see attached summary). Kamm’s latest book, Hazardous Material, will be released in May, 2013. He is currently attending search & rescue training and working on his fifth novel.
For further information on Kurt Kamm visit his first responder/author website http://www.kurtkamm.com/

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book and liked the alternation of chapters between the past, Greg's horrible home life, and the present, on his own at 19 in California learning to be a firefighter. Parts of the book, traveling on the bus and people watching, the paternal neglect and abuse and the grueling training on the Grinder were so well written the reader almost feels the pain and exhaustion along with Greg. The girls he meets are a bit too easy to believe but one guesses they are out there, especially if he is as attractive as described. Yet, for all the realism, the supposed maturity he has gained in leaving home and becoming part of a tight knit firefighting unit is somehow unbelievable. But then, only a little over a year has passed and he is just 20 after all. Nevertheless, the ending is very disquieting. Instead of coming to the decision to seek therapy as he is advised by a professional, he is, it seems, going to follow his mother's advice and seek out a girl he has already alienated by assuming she has cheated on him, with no rational proof. He promises his mother that he will contact his younger sister, who has entered an unhealthy relationship with an older man, but there is no evidence that he has or will.

So, in the end, it is left in the air, whether Greg, like his father will become abusive, distrusting, volatile and only happy when on the line with one foot in the black or if he will seek professional help and possibly achieve what he seems to want, a family who love and support him and which he, in turn, loves and supports.

[Jeffrey Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kurt Kamm definitely knows how to craft a compelling story and his research on wildland firefighting shines forth through the pages. However, there is something about this story that doesn't do it for me. The narrative is disjointed, too many loose ends that need to be tied up at the end, holes in the story line and a few instances where the facts as he presents them early in the book don't add up later. Yet the basic premise of the story makes this a salvageable work. I cannot give it a high rating because of the errors, but it is not a bad book per se, so it should not rate a low rating either. However, I do believe that there is enough there with the plot that would convert nicely into a screenplay, so I have mix emotions about this one. Therefore, I look at this as an average book.

[Anthony Misner · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a story

I enjoyed that book. Emotional highs and lows throughout the book. The author did a good job painting a picture of what Greg went through over the course of the book. My only complaint is that there were some minor inaccuracies with how things are done. Only the most experience would notice them. All in all a good read.