Notes from the Fireground: Memoir of a New York Firefighter

by Thomas Dunne

In a 33-year career with the New York City Fire Department, Tom Dunne fought hundreds of fires, survived near death incidents, crawled down burning hallways, met unforgettable characters, and witnessed the 9/11 terrorist attack. From working in glittering mid-Manhattan high-rises to squalid ghetto tenements, he saw how people in crisis lived and survived and how the firefighters who served them worked and bonded. Exploring both the positive and controversial aspects of being a firefighter, this no-holds barred memoir provides an honest account of an unusual occupation that outsiders seldom get to see.

213 pages, Paperback

Published February 20, 2020

About the author

My background has provided an in-depth perspective of New York City. I grew up in Brooklyn and over the course of a 33 year career with the New York City Fire Department I had the opportunity to work throughout the city. My work experiences ranged from high profile incidents in Mid-Manhattan to major disasters in most of the poorer sections of Brooklyn and the Bronx.
I rose through the rank of firefighter, company officer, battalion chief, and eventually deputy chief in the largest and most active fire department in the country. This extensive firefighting resume has allowed me to become nationally recognized as a leading expert in the emergency services field and provided an opportunity to lecture throughout the country to both civilian and firefighter audiences.
While there were many memorable incidents in my career a few stand out and are intimately described in my book. I responded to the Happy Lands Social Club fire in the Bronx, a disaster of historical proportions where 87 people died. I worked through 24 hours of Hurricane Sandy which flooded and devastated whole sections of New York City. And most notably, I worked for months as a sector commander supervising rescue and recovery operations following the World Trade Center terrorist attack.
In writing "Notes From the Fireground" I wanted to give readers a view of the hidden world of New York City and the FDNY. To portray the city in all of all of its extremes-from glistening Mid Manhattan skyscrapers to squalid tenements. And to show how it felt to experience the fear and exhilaration of a firefighter's work as well as my own personal growth as I confronted the challenges of the work. My web site is: www.chieftomdunne.com

Reviews

[Suzanne Chazin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartfelt and deeply personal look at what it means to be a New York City firefighter. Thomas Dunne does an excellent job of mixing story and action to give readers an up-close tour of one of the most intriguing and demanding professions in the United States. You don't need to be a firefighter or know one to appreciate this engaging book.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently reading this book (physical copy) and I am loving it so far! As I'm currently in training to be a firefighter myself, this offers a great insight on what "The Job" is like. This book tells about the author's experiences with the FDNY from his childhood, visiting his dad's firehouse to adulthood, being employed by the FDNY. He also includes his experience with helping out at the WTC on 9/11 and the months after. This is a really great book about my hometown fire department. I'm about 1/3 into the book already and my lieutenant/mentor has already asked me if he could read it after I'm done reading it. I highly recommend this book! Book or Kindle.

UPDATE! I've since now finished the book this past Friday. While at the firehouse sitting in my own Chief's Office. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Now, it is in the hands of my Lieutenant/Mentor for him to read. I hope he enjoys it as much as I did. Also, my best friend wants to read it after him. I've literally got people getting in line just to read it. Thanks for the great read, Chief!

[Ken Schulz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity of attending a lecture presented by Chief Dunne ( intellectual content and professionally presented) so I was excited to read his book. I wasn't disappointed. His thoughts and recollection of his career infused emotions felt and empathy expressed for victims of fire, the anxiety a Chief internalizes of the decisions to keep personnel safe at fire scenes, and the the everyday interaction with personalities of the men and women he worked with.

It wasn't a book loaded with exciting, edge of the seat "war stories" and you can find many of those books. Chief Dunne took you inside his thought process on how the fireman's job, interacts emotionally with the victims of tragedy.

I loved the chapter describing his response to the Happyland Social Club fire which killed about 87 persons. He vividly describes the dignity for which a fireman treated a young dead woman's body while preparing her for removal at the fire scene. It was other stories along with this story of empathy and dignity for New Yorkers that made this book a great read.

[Thomas Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is at its best when the author is describing his interior life and the interaction of a generalized college educated person and the intensely localized culture of the New York Fire Department. The book is less successful in illustrating the many cultural faces of the FDNY. According to the copyright the author was born in 1950 yet he didn’t enter the fire service until sometime in the mid 1980s. As an older college educated rookie firefighter in the 1980s, a time of high crime rates and over 2,000 murders in 1989, and a stock market crash in 1987, entering the FDNY was probably a good career decision. He was also following in his father’s footsteps. Still, it’s clear the writer was on guard against being pulled in too deeply in the department’s isolation, racism, drinking culture, and paranoia of outsiders. As a result the book is very much an examination of a mindset that loves aspects of the job yet has distrust for other parts of it. This is a survival tale and like many such narratives the physical wounds have healed but the psychological ones remain.