Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Fire Trucks That Cross the Town Line

6th grade nonfiction passage about fire departments helping each other: 228 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction fire departments helping each other 228 words

Fire Trucks That Cross the Town Line

When a big fire breaks out, one fire station may not have enough trucks or firefighters to handle it. Smaller towns have this problem most often, since they may only own a couple of engines. Many solve it with a plan called mutual aid, a written agreement in which neighboring fire departments promise to help each other.

Here is how it might work. A fire starts in a large barn at the edge of town. The dispatcher, the person who answers emergency calls, sends the local engine at once. As soon as the crew arrives and sees how big the fire is, the officer in charge asks the dispatcher to call for help. Soon, engines and water tankers from nearby towns are racing toward the scene.

The helpers do not just show up and do whatever they like. Someone from the local department stays in charge of the whole scene, so that every crew knows its job. Using the same signals and plans for everyone prevents confusion.

Mutual aid is a bargain that works for all the towns. A department that sends a truck today may need one tomorrow. It costs less than each town owning a huge number of engines it rarely uses. It also means that a fire near the town line can get the closest help, even if the nearest station belongs to another town.

Questions

  1. What is mutual aid? in the text

  2. What does a dispatcher do? in the text

  3. Who stays in charge of the scene when helpers arrive? in the text

  4. Why do smaller towns often need mutual aid? in the text

  5. Why does it matter that every crew uses the same signals and plans? think about it

  6. Why is mutual aid called a bargain that works for all the towns? think about it

Words to know

mutual
shared by two or more groups
dispatcher
the person who answers emergency calls and sends help
agreement
a promise that people make to each other
tankers
large trucks that carry water
confusion
a mixed-up feeling when no one knows what to do
Share

One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1

A big fire can be too much for one fire station. There may not be enough trucks or firefighters. Small towns face this most often. They may own only a couple of engines. Many use a plan called mutual aid. It is a written agreement. Neighboring fire departments promise to help each other.

Here is how it might go. A fire starts in a big barn at the edge of town. The dispatcher answers emergency calls. She sends the local engine right away. The crew arrives and sees the fire is big. The officer in charge asks the dispatcher to call for help. Soon engines and water tankers from nearby towns race to the scene.

The helpers do not just do whatever they like. Someone from the local department stays in charge. Every crew knows its job. The same signals and plans for everyone prevent confusion.

Mutual aid is a good bargain for all the towns. A department that sends a truck today may need one tomorrow. It costs less than owning many engines that are rarely used. A fire near the town line can get the closest help, even if the nearest station is in another town.

▲ This passage · 228 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

When a big fire breaks out, one fire station may not have enough trucks or firefighters to handle it. Smaller towns have this problem most often, since they may only own a couple of engines. Many solve it with a plan called mutual aid, a written agreement in which neighboring fire departments promise to help each other.

Here is how it might work. A fire starts in a large barn at the edge of town. The dispatcher, the person who answers emergency calls, sends the local engine at once. As soon as the crew arrives and sees how big the fire is, the officer in charge asks the dispatcher to call for help. Soon, engines and water tankers from nearby towns are racing toward the scene.

The helpers do not just show up and do whatever they like. Someone from the local department stays in charge of the whole scene, so that every crew knows its job. Using the same signals and plans for everyone prevents confusion.

Mutual aid is a bargain that works for all the towns. A department that sends a truck today may need one tomorrow. It costs less than each town owning a huge number of engines it rarely uses. It also means that a fire near the town line can get the closest help, even if the nearest station belongs to another town.

■ Harder · 232 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.8

When a large fire breaks out, a single fire station may lack the trucks or the firefighters needed to handle it. Smaller towns encounter this difficulty most often, since they may own only a couple of engines. Many of them address it through a plan called mutual aid, a written agreement in which neighboring fire departments promise to assist one another.

Consider how it might unfold. A fire begins in a large barn at the edge of town. The dispatcher, the person who answers emergency calls, sends the local engine immediately. As soon as the crew arrives and judges how big the fire is, the officer in charge asks the dispatcher to summon reinforcements. Before long, engines and water tankers from nearby towns are speeding toward the scene.

The helpers do not simply arrive and act as they please. Someone from the local department remains in command of the entire scene, so that every crew understands its assignment. Relying on the same signals and plans for everyone prevents confusion.

Mutual aid is a bargain that benefits every town involved. A department that sends a truck today may need one tomorrow, and the arrangement costs far less than each town owning a huge number of engines it seldom uses. It also means that a fire near the town line can receive the closest help, even when the nearest station belongs to another town.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put mutual, dispatcher, agreement, tankers and confusion on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Fire Trucks That Cross the Town Line"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 228 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.5. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.