The Flame Within

A former City of Milwaukee firefighter, the author writes his memoir with candor, depth, spice and emotional insight. He lays out the tumultuous events that led him as a youth into the profession, and the wealth of eye-opening experiences along the way. He plumbs the character of the firefighters and paramedics who answer the call for rescue—but also the character of those who make the call, the rescuer and the rescued.
The author keeps the reader close with vivid details of fighting fire and dealing with the anguish of loss and destruction. He pulls no punches; he also describes the promotion process, the politics in stations and in the service as a whole, the struggle of teaching young firefighters, and the heavy price of dedication. The book fully displays the humanity of members of the fire service and the flavor of fire service tradition.

Literary and documentary film consultant, Wayne Mutza has published more than thirty books and numerous articles. He lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Wayne Mutza

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 250
Bibliographic Info: 13 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7276-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0159-5
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction 7
1. The Road to the Glass House 19
2. The Glass House 31
3. Interlude 55
4. Back to School 63
5. Engine 5 81
6. Scary Stuff 119
7. Truck Man 128
8. An Officer and a Gentleman 155
9. Brady Street 166
10. More Characters on Brady Street 190
11. The Beginning of the End 215
12. Later Lessons 219
Epilogue 232
Index 239