I spent almost three years with local fire departments, going on ride alongs on the trucks and ambulances, attending classes at the fire academy, eating countless meals and spending countless hours with the firefighters and EMS people themselves. They told me many of the stories I used in the book. I also had email contact with one guy who answered a lot of questions on a routine basis. But it really paid off. I took copious notes on everything, like watching them saw through a roof to ventilate.
Firefighters are contradictory in many ways.
I was terrified. I asked them all the way over if they were. They kept saying no, they were excited. When we got there, they didn't go near the house, though, until the cops came. We understand you have a fourth book coming out for the America's Bravest series, and it wasn't planned, but sort of evolved.