Fighting Fires

GRADE 5 • Informational Text

Read the article about fighting fires. Then answer questions 1–8. Fighting Fires Nothing gets people moving faster than the word fire. When someone yells “Fire!” most people dash for the exits. Their only thought is to get out of the building fast. Firefighters, on the other hand, race just as quickly toward the fire. They want to put out the blaze as quickly as possible. There are more than one million firefighters in the United States today. Firefighters are trained to go to the scene of a fire, determine the intensity and extent of the fire, assess whether it is safe to enter the area, and then figure out how to extinguish the flames. While they are doing all this, they also have the responsibility of rescuing any people who may be trapped by the blaze.

Back in the 1600s, there were no trained firefighters in the American colonies. Putting out fires was everyone’s job. Cities and towns had no indoor plumbing, running water, or fire hydrants, so water from a pond, river, or well had to be carried to the fire in buckets. When a fire broke out, everyone ran to help. They formed a bucket brigade. Men formed one line leading from the water supply and passed buckets of water to throw on the fire. Women and children formed another line, sending empty buckets back to be filled. This was a very slow way to put out a fire, and many homes burned to the ground before they could be saved. Then in 1736, Benjamin Franklin came FIREFIGHTER FACTS up with the idea for a fire department. He There are almost 1,150,000 convinced a group of people in Philadelphia firefighters serving in the to form the Union Fire Company. They United States. Here are some became the first official volunteer firefighters statistics about these brave in the country. men and women. Today, three out of four American firefighters are volunteers. These brave men Volunteer 72% and women do not get paid for their work, but they are in good company. George Between the 75% Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Paul ages of 20 and 49 Revere were all volunteer firefighters, too, Female career in their day. In some areas of the United 3.7% firefighters States, you can become a volunteer firefighter when you are 16 years old. If you’ve always dreamed of being a volunteer firefighter, you may have the chance soon!

1. The article says, “They formed a C convince people to become bucket brigade.” firefighters. teach people to be more careful What does brigade mean in this D with fire. sentence? A a group of people organized for 6. Why did so many homes burn to the a purpose ground in the 1600s? B a machine built to hold buckets A No one wanted to help their C a formation of soldiers in an army neighbor put out a fire. D a truck used to fight fires in a city B The people didn’t know how to put out a fire. 2. Benjamin Franklin was the first C Bucket brigades were too slow and American to inefficient. A join a bucket brigade. D There was no water to put in the B lose a house to a fire. buckets. C pay trained firefighters. D form a fire department. 7. Which statement most accurately summarizes information about 3. People formed “bucket brigades” to firefighters from the chart? A prevent fires. A Most firefighters are male volunteers between the ages of 20 and 49. B extinguish fires. Almost half of all firefighters are C rescue people. B male volunteers. D warn people. C Women do not serve as volunteer 4. Why were women and children given firefighters. the job of passing the empty buckets? D One quarter of firefighters are A The empty buckets protected them between the ages of 16 and 20. from the fire. 8. Which would be another good title B Women didn’t want to get wet. for this article? C So children wouldn’t be tempted A The History of Firefighting to play with water. B Benjamin Franklin’s Idea D Empty buckets were lighter and easier to carry. C The First Official Volunteer D Becoming a Volunteer Firefighter 5. The author’s main purpose in this article is to A tell an entertaining story about a firefighter. V KD AR I E L TF MI Total B give information about firefighters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Score in the past. /8