Just about every little boy over the age of two is thrilled by the sight and sound of a fire truck in action.

The lights catch his eye as they flash round and round, demanding attention. The brightly colored truck makes a boy’s heart pound as it hurries down the street on the way to heroism. The brave firemen in their bulky uniforms make him long to be one of them, just as soon as he grows up.

Then he grows up.

And sometimes, he follows in the footsteps of his father, the fireman. Other times, like in the new book Rescue Men by Charles Kenney, he’s fiercely proud to tell the story of several generations of firefighters in his family.

It was a cold November night in 1942 when Charles “Pops” Kenney and his crew from Rescue 1 of the Boston Fire Department responded to the call at the Cocoanut Grove night club. The Cocoanut Grove was definitely the hottest hotspot in Boston at the time, and the place was packed — by some estimates, nearly three times fuller than the legal limit of occupants. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

They say the fire started in the Melody Lounge. Later, people would blame a sixteen-year-old scapegoat. The National Fire Protection Association calculated that in one minute, the fire raced 400 feet, faster than anyone could outrun the flames.

When Pops Kenney and his crew arrived at the scene, the bodies were already piling up. People were desperately trying to save themselves, and Pops helped as many as he could before he was overcome by smoke and toxic gases.

In the meantime, Charles “Sonny” Kenney, age seventeen, was stationed the navy and awaiting deployment for submarine duty in the North Pacific. When he heard about the fire, he figured Pops was safe but “something” sent him AWOL and home. There, he found his father, injured and shocked.

What could cause a fire to spread so quickly? That question haunted Sonny — and his family, including two future rescue men — for much of their lives.

Okay, I’ll admit it. It’s not just little boys who thrill to the sight and sound of fire engines. I would have bought this book just for the cover, so enticing it was. But what’s inside is better. Author Charles Kenney says that his father, Sonny, wasn’t a writer but that he managed to publish a small book on his Cocoanut Grove findings. This book goes beyond Sonny’s book, not only to explain further findings, but to tell the story of three generations affected by one cataclysmic event, culminating in another fiery national disaster nearly 60 years later. Rescue Men is filled with drama, love, blistering frustration, and a blast of respect, and I think it’s a book you’ll want to read.

If a fire truck in motion gives you a burning desire to watch heroism in action, then read this book. For “sparks”, firefighters, and anyone who wants a good story, Rescue Men gets a glowing recommendation from me.

•••

“Rescue Men”

By Charles Kenney

c.2007, PublicAffairs

$26

331 pages

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Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3 years old and never goes anywhere without a book. She lives in West Salem, Wis., with her two dogs and 9,800 books.

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