Catching Fire: The Story of Firefighting [Paperback]

Gena K. Gorrell (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

An entertaining and informative look at firefighting, from the equipment to the techniques, both in history and today. Enhanced with black and white photos, anecdotes from firefighters, and fire prevention and safety tips.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10A thorough introduction to the topic, from the bucket brigades of olden times to the state-of-the-art equipment used today. The author has included a wealth of related information that will be of interest to general readers as well as to students doing research. She presents the science behind how a fire burns, provides short descriptions of important blazes in history, discusses how equipment has changed, and explains the tactics used by modern firefighters to control and extinguish flames. She also covers wildfires; arson; fires on ships, airplanes, and subways; fire safety; and the varied skills and roles of current-day firefighters, including cleaning up spills and search and rescue. These chapters add significantly to the breadth and depth of the book. Numerous black-and-white illustrations, ranging from reproductions depicting equipment and blazes from the past to action photos of contemporary firefighters at work, appear throughout. Lively and informative, this is an excellent addition to nonfiction collections.William C. Schadt, Glacier Park Middle School, Maple Valley, WA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The topic of fire fighting usually inspires books for young children, but Gorrell has researched and written quite a good, readable book for older ones. Beginning with fire fighting through history, the discussion turns to modern techniques, equipment, and the rescue function of fire fighting teams as well as special circumstances such as fires in forests and on ships, planes, subways. The book closes with an informative chapter on how to prevent fires and what to do when there is a fire. Full of pertinent information and intriguing anecdotes, the book will answer many questions about fire fighting, past and present. To be illustrated, mainly with photographs. Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Tundra Books (March 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887764304
• ISBN-13: 978-0887764301
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,899,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read, January 26, 2002

By 

Alan Sutton (Sharon, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catching Fire: The Story of Firefighting (Paperback)

I'll keep this short, but I must say that I found this book very well laid out both in words and pictures. Worth buying!!!

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little dry, July 16, 2001

By 

Michael Horstel (Myrtle Beach, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catching Fire: The Story of Firefighting (Paperback)

This book somehow gets lost in the space between entertainment and education. It's too dry to be entertaining, unless you are just dying to find out what an SCBA is. And it's really too light to be of any use for education. Make up your mind about what you want and go for either "Fighting Fire" by Caroline Paul (entertainment) or "Essentials of Fire Fighting" for educational use.