ATLANTIC CITY LECTURES

I’m honored to present two lectures at the New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevalent Association Conference. “We’re Only Human: Undestanding Fireground Behavior” on Fevruary 20 and “Seeing the Elephant: A Fire Chief’s Guide to Performing Under Stress” on Fevruary 21. See you in Atlantic City.

"A MOMENT IN TIME" BOOK REVIEW

"A MOMENT IN TIME" BOOK REVIEW

                         THE FIRE BELL CLUB OF NEW YORK, INC.

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            Preserving the History and Traditions of the Fire Department of New York

 

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                                                N E W S & N O T E S

 VOLUME 55, NO. 9 & 10                                                                SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023                                                                                                                                                     

 

                                                            Book Review

 

A MOMENT IN TIME by Thomas Dunne

253 pp. Apprentice House Press. $17.99

Reviewed by Bob Williams

 

Chills. Spills. Excitement.

No, it’s not the Coney Island Cyclone. But, like the Cyclone, Thomas Dunne's new novel, "A Moment in Time," will leave you breathless, shaken and perhaps even teary-eyed.

Dunne, a retired FDNY Deputy Chief, has used his 33-year experience to take readers behind the scenes for a vivid look at the realities of the dangerous job of New York City firefighting. What's more, he shows us that the terrible events and horrible sights that firefighters routinely experience can, in fact, affect mental stability. Long work hours and unorthodox schedules add to the pressure.

We follow Jim Hanley, a blue-collar firefighter from Queens, as he interacts with other members of Ladder Co. 57, housed on Manhattan's West Side. Dunne takes us into the firehouse kitchen as the men easily move through routine meals and the usual banter - sometimes annoying - associated with any group that spends excessive time with each other. We learn that Jim is preparing to marry Laura Whitacre, an affluent Upper East Side businesswoman with a Harvard MBA. Laura is a lot of what Jim is not. Do opposites attract? Perhaps. But with marriage quickly approaching, Jim is wrestling with the challenges of urban living and the stresses of a dangerous job.

Interestingly, the author introduces us to the fire department's counselling unit. We see that a relentless exposure to the constant death and devastation that firefighters face daily leads to broken marriages and drinking problems. Dunne says it's not the great number of fires that firefighters respond to, but what they see at those fires that affects them.

And what they see, you see in "A Moment in Time." Take, for instance, the nighttime run that brought Ladder 57 to a tenement fire. Firefighters made quick work of the blaze. Nonetheless, they came upon two victims - Code 10-45s in FDNY lingo -- who apparently had been trapped in the smoke and heat. Dunne's emotional description of what it's like to discover a fire victim? Well, here are his words:

"He (Jim) was walking back out towards the hallway when he stepped on something. It felt soft and spongy under his boot. Jim initially took it for a rolled up blanket or maybe a stuffed animal..... Then he glanced down for a moment and saw what he was standing on. "The pajama was yellow and had Batman figures printed on it. The kind of thing a young boy might like to sleep in. But he wasn't exactly looking at a boy. Just a leg. A leg wearing this thin piece of yellow clothing which happened to be covered by a thick blanket that shielded it from the fire.

"The rest of the figure was only a charred mass.” It looked nothing at all like a person. "Jim was both shocked and revolted by what he saw ..... Logic said the boy had died before Jim had ever gotten near the bedroom. Before Ladder 57 even arrived at the scene. But he wasn't feeling logic right now, just experiencing a sense of regret. Regret that this boy was dead and defaced in such a horrible manner. Regret that he had stepped on him, felt his soft flesh move under his boot. He had unknowingly treated him like he was a piece of furniture rather than a human being with all the dignity a human body deserved whether it was alive or dead."

This exquisitely crafted novel also shows us that life or death on the job, as insiders refer to their work, is a crapshoot. Dunne illustrates the point by focusing on a routine building fire. Ladder 57 had been dispatched to a hardware store blaze. A minor fire. But, as Jim was simply standing in the rear of the store, the floor below him suddenly collapsed. He was pitched to the basement.... trapped under a mound of concrete... unable to move. The guys will find me, Jim reasoned as he waited, his oxygen supply running lower and lower.

It took rescuers a long time to unravel the tangled mess - and finally reach firefighter Jim Hanley. The outcome? Not a satisfying ending.

Yes, "A Moment in Time" is a powerful book. Although it begins slowly, it picks up speed and emotion at every turn. Kind of like the Coney Island Cyclone.