Former Firefighter Pays Tribute to Career through Fiction

Firefighting is an exciting yet challenging profession, a tiring yet rewarding job. Despite the nature of their work, firefighters do not have the riskiest career path, due to the safety measures they implement and the foresight they have when working in extremely hazardous environments. The dangers they face on the job are well below those faced by most of America’s workers. Such facts seem to be true; if not, Eugene Welischar would not have lived to publish two books: “If You Play With Fire” (Advocate House, 2008) and “In Over Your Head: Attack on Times Square Y2k” (AuthorHouse, 2015).

Both books feature firefighters as the main characters and New York City as the setting. Each story takes place during a different time period, with each one highlighting certain socio-political issues that were hotly discussed and debated in their respective era – and they fuel the plot, literally. 

Written in the first person as a fictionalized account of real events, “If You Play With Fire” takes place during the 1960s and 1970s, when arson was rife, crime and poverty rampant, and corruption and incompetence widespread in city government levels. Socio-political issues such as civil disobedience (which also accounted for further fires) and sexual revolution occur offstage in the narratives of brave men fighting fires, getting out alive and fostering brotherhood.

“In Over Your Head” opens with a preface, which discusses the entry of women into firefighting in the 1980s. The author talks briefly about the war between the sexes that erupted, plus the indifferent and hostile treatment women firefighters received from their male colleagues. The preface serves to acquaint readers with the protagonist Mary Walsh, a firefighter who has risen to the rank of lieutenant. As a mother, Walsh tries to balance work and family, and as a firefighter, she helps her colleagues thwart a terror plot by religious extremists.

Welischar did not just write books for his audience; he helps them experience America’s history through fiction. Both novels recount real-life events from a firefighter’s point of view, making readers witness history and feel like they were there. It is as if the author, through his creation, wishes to present his brothers and sisters in the profession not as mere firefighters but witnesses to history, being at the forefront of socio-political change.

Through his works, Welischar pays tribute to his career and his profession. Both novels are available at Amazon.

“If You Play With Fire” and “In Over Your Head: Attack on Times Square Y2k”
Written by Eugene Welischar
Published by Advocate House and AuthorHouse, respectively
Published date: September 1, 2008 and February 17, 2015, respectively
Paperback price: $ 6.49 and $16.95, respectively
 
 

About the Author
Eugene Welischar was a member of the New York City Fire Department for 33 years which included 8 years as a Lieutenant and 15 years as a Captain. Prior to this he served for 5 years with the New York City Police Department as a street patrolman. In 1975 he was recruited with other firemen by the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve to implement pollution control in the Port of New York as a result of the Federal 1973 Clean Water Act. This entailed the inspection of oil storage facilities and tank ships to prevent sloppy transfers of oil. While serving in the U.S. Army in Korea, he received the Combat Infantry Badge with two Battle Stars for action on Pork Chop Hill and Old Baldy.

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