Five Floors Up

August 1, 2022
An affecting, fast-paced portrait of four generations of FDNY firefighters and the many dangers they have faced--some to the very end. "William Feehan's last moments on earth were spent helping the direct recovery effort for firefighters trapped in the Marriott hotel adjacent to the south tower." So writes journalist McDonald, author of My Father's Gun and Last Call at Elaine's, who tracks the Feehan connection to firefighting in New York to a patriarch who stumbled into the job in the 1920s, mostly by virtue of being Irish and having a brother-in-law in the FDNY. He served as an ordinary firefighter for 30 years, seeking no further promotions: "William loved facing a raging fire with a nozzle in his hands and saw no reason to do anything else." His son and namesake was of similar mind, but, as the author chronicles, he moved up the chain of command until he was a captain, a chief, then commissioner. He was the highest-ranking casualty of 9/11, the cause of death listed as homicide, "the first issued to a member of the FDNY killed in the attack." McDonald writes with all the vividness of firefighting genre master Dennis Smith, but his story isn't all hooks and ladders. Much of the narrative involves the complex politics of the FDNY vis-a-vis other emergency departments and the city government. In one extensive passage, McDonald describes a history of budgetary neglect that ended in the 1970s with a demoralized, understaffed department. They faced mortal danger every day, and "in return, they received little thanks from the communities they served and layoffs and pay freezes from the city. The anger was palpable." The story continues with the achievements of Bill Feehan's son-in-law and grandson within the FDNY, which, after 9/11, is held in much higher regard--even if the pay still isn't adequate. A closely observed study of ordinary heroes and the thousands more like them whose lives are always on the line.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2022
New York City journalist McDonald portrays the Feehan family and tracks its history of fighting the city's largest blazes, taking his book's title from a New York fire department saying, The fire you're trying to reach is always five floors up and five rooms in. By telling the Feehan family's history, McDonald also covers many aspects of New York City's past and present through their eyes. He centers the story on William Feehan, whose long career in the fire department as the only firefighter to have held every rank in the FDNY ended tragically on 9/11 under the collapsing World Trade Center. This is a gripping drama of heroic battles with the red devil, the evolution of the FDNY, changes in fire-fighting technologies, the tumultuous politics of the Big Apple, and the culture of its civil servants. McDonald also provides an excellent and moving memorial to Chief Feehan and all the heroes of the September 11, 2001, attack as well as the 1,157 firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty throughout FDNY's history.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 22, 2022
Journalist McDonald (Last Call at Elaine’s) surveys the last century of firefighting in New York City through the lens of one family’s captivating history: the Feehans, who’ve served in the FDNY over multiple generations, starting in the “roaring twenties.” In 1926, William Feehan, the son of Irish immigrants, joined the department at a time when it was already regarded as the “finest... ever assembled.” His passion for the calling was inherited by his namesake son (born 1929), who becomes McDonald’s main character. That William Feehan initially failed his required eye exam, but went on to become the first firefighter to ever to hold every rank in the FDNY, including commissioner. Tragically, he perished at the World Trade Center at the age of 71, while directing rescue operations. McDonald’s choice to open on 9/11, as William’s son Billy Feehan gets the grim news, is a tug at the heartstrings, and sets the stage for a dramatic decades-spanning account of brave men risking their lives for New Yorkers. The narrative moves fire-by-fire tamed, addressing changing hiring practices, politics, and firefighting techniques, with due discussion of the FDNY’s history of racism and sexism. It’s a worthy complement to titles like Notes from the Fireground, for readers who enjoy histories with heroes at the forefront. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.