The Firehouse Fraternity

In Riots to Renaissance the story of the NFD from that fateful July in 1967 to the experiences of 2003 are recounted. The men who fought the fires of the Riots describe in detail how they dealt with the societal chaos that was Newark in July of 1967. If you have read A View from the Firehouse: The Newark Riots, you are familiar with the history of those troubled nights. The stories told in this book will introduce you to how it felt and what members of the Newark Fire Department did to get through that time. The next chapters follow Newark and her fire department as they spiral downward. During the 20 years that followed the Riots, it appeared America's cities would simply burn to the ground, but by the late 1980s hope had crept back into the picture. Newark was transformed,some say becoming America's renaissance city. Follow Newark firefighters through the worst period in the history of the city and into an era of hope.

Neal Stoffers is a retired Newark Fire Captain. He began his career as a firefighter assigned to Engine Company 6 located on Springfield Avenue and Hunterdon Street and fought fires in Newark's Central Ward from the late 1970s until the mid 1980s. During this period he found time to earn a B.A. from Seton Hall University. In 1991 he earned an M.A. from the same school.
MS forced him out of the firehouse, but not off the job. Over the next twenty years, his varied assignments included everything from the Office of Hazardous Materials to vice president of the Newark Firefighters Union. However, most Newark firefighters will remember him instructing them at the Training Academy.
He has written 8 oral history books about the Newark Fire Department, 3 adult novels, 3 children's novels, and a short history of the Chinese in New Jersey.