Reflections in Smoke: a Firefighter's Story

REFLECTIONS IN SMOKE is a story about firefighters, their job, their families, and their relationships with other firefighters, citizens and the city officials. The story is seen through the eyes of Charles E. Mixler, a World War II combat Marine Veteran, who had attended Center City College. Mixler becomes interested in the fire department after seeing the firemen in action. Charlie joins the Center City Fire Department in1949. Over his thirty year career, he and his fellow firefighters encounter a variety of emergencies and life threatening situations, as well as calling on their human instincts in helping people cope with tragedy and loss. He completes rookie school and is assigned to a fire company. Charlie learns his trade by the aid of his officers and his fellow firefighters. Throughout the book there are many fire runs and other emergencies. There are fires in homes, stores, and factories. There are fatal fires, automobile accidents, storms, an airplane crash, Church fires and arsons. These emergencies cover the scope of a firefighter's job. The story takes you inside the many fires and emergencies and makes you almost think you can smell the smoke and feel the heat. There is a fatal fire that involves a firefighter, his crews' reaction, the viewing and the funeral. The story also relates to the family side of a firefighter's life and the trials and traumas they must endure. It also tells of the personal toll a firefighter's chosen profession takes on him and his peers, as they must deal with death and other emergencies on a daily basis. The story explains what makes a man do this dirty, demanding, dangerous job and keep coming back for more in spite of the cost. It tells the story of a happy family and the support they give the firefighter. It also tells the sad story of a family break up, divorce and of the heartbreak of Charlie's friend, Paul Davidson. The firefighter's sense of humor, crude as it may sometimes be, shows how they use humor