Fireman Sinead

Cover: 196 x 130mm. Spine: 5.6mm

p and a s 4

Susan Cooper

ISBN 978-0-86278-529-1

p and a s for

Beginner Readers

O'BRIEN

9 780862 785291

Anna Donovan

ANNA DONOVAN lives and works in Cork.

She has also written Sinead the Dancer, Where's Murphy? and Panda Party in the PANDA series, Sinéad ag Damhsa and Cá Bhfuil Murchú? in the SOS series, Emma Says Boo! and Emma Says Oops! in the PANDA CUB series and Póga the Dragon.

FIREMAN SINEAD!

Sinead wants to be a fireman. She practises and practises, but can she ever become one?

When a real fire happens Sinead gets a big surprise!

Fireman Sinead!

words Anna Donovan

pictures Susan Cooper

Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen

PANDA books are for young readers making their own way through books.

1 D:\CONORS CANVAS\CONOR’S CANVAS.VP Thu Jul 24 15:17:43 2008

O’BRIEN SERIES FOR YOUNG READERS

Fireman Sinead!

ANNA DONOVAN pictures by Susan Cooper

First published 1997 by The O‘Brien Press Ltd, 12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, D06 HD27, Ireland.

Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777 E-mail: books@obrien.ie; Website: www.obrien.ie Reprinted 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2017.

Digital edition 2020.

ISBN: 978-0-86278-529-1

Copyright for text © Anna Donovan Copyright for editing, illustrations, layout and design © The O‘Brien Press Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any way or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Typesetting, layout, editing, design: The O’Brien Press Ltd

Published in:

Fireman Sinead received assistance from the Arts Council

Can YOU spot the panda hidden in the story?

‘I want to be a fireman,’ said Sinead.

Dad looked a bit puzzled.

‘I never heard of a girl fireman!’ he said.

Still, he made her a special ladder so she could practise.

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Sinead climbed up and down her ladder all day long.

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‘I’m going to be a fireman,’ she told her friend Tom. ‘You can’t!’ he said.

‘Only boys can be firemen.’

Sinead was not pleased.

‘I can if I want,’ she said to Tom. But she wasn’t really sure.

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‘Mum!’ she called. ‘I’m going to be a fireman.’

‘I never heard of a girl fireman,’ said Mum. Still, she made a big, heavy, floppy doll for Sinead so she could practise.

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Sinead called the doll Victim.

She carried him over her shoulder. His long arms hung down her back and his long legs hung down her front.

Sinead was thrilled.

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‘Fireman Sinead to the rescue!’ she said to anyone who’d listen.

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Tom laughed at her.

‘You’re silly,’ he said.

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But Sinead did not listen.

She practised on the ground.

Then she climbed the ladder, slowly, holding Victim carefully.

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Finally, she put Victim at her bedroom window – and she rescued him!

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Victim was rescued a hundred times a day. He was the most rescued doll ever.

But he didn’t mind.

He just smiled and smiled, and hung over Sinead’s shoulder, happy to be rescued again and again.

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Then Sinead decided to do something more tricky.

Most fires happen at night, she thought. I must do some night practise.

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At five o’clock in the morning Sinead crept out of bed.

She put Victim at her window ready to be rescued.

She got her ladder settled against the wall.

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Then she made a mistake ...

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‘Fire!’ she screamed at the top of her voice.

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Dad leapt out of bed.

Mum came running.

Mrs Higgins next door threw open her window, shouting, ‘Where? Where?’

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Oh no! thought Sinead.

I’m in trouble!

And she was.

They all began to shout at her: ‘You silly girl!’

‘Go back to bed and stop this noise!’

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Only Victim smiled as he leaned out the window waiting to be rescued.

At least he didn’t seem to mind.

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‘I think Victim needs a rest,’ said Mum, calm at last.

‘Come on, Sinead, let’s put him to bed.’

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Mum and Sinead put Victim into Sinead’s bed and tucked him up under the sheets.

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‘Now you can nurse him,’ said Mum. ‘Nurse?’ Sinead asked.

‘Yes, NURSE!’ said Mum firmly, and off she went to her own room.

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Sinead looked at Victim, who was still smiling.

‘I don’t think you need nursing!’ she said. ‘You look perfectly fine to me.’

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And she climbed into bed beside him and dreamed about being a fireman on a huge, red, shiny engine, zooming down the street to rescue someone.

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A few days later there was a fire.

It was next door. Nobody knows how it started. Someone said Mr Higgins put a match in the waste-paper bin.

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The fire brigade came screaming down the road, lights flashing, siren going. Traffic got out of the way. People began to gather around the Higgins front gate.

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Sinead came running with her Mum. ‘A real fire!’ she said, her eyes shining.

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Tom came too with his Mum. Sinead and Tom watched every move of the firemen.

Sinead wanted to know what else she should practise.

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The men climbed quickly down the ladders at the side of the engine. One man unwound a huge hose and another looked for the water hydrant on the street.

Others grabbed ladders and ran to the house.

It all happened so fast Sinead could hardly keep up.

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Others grabbed ladders and ran to the house.

It all happened so fast Sinead could hardly keep up.

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One of the men noticed Sinead watching closely and he winked at her.

Sinead waved back.

Tom waved too.

‘He’s a real cool fireman,’ Tom said to Sinead.

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The fire was not bad at all and they had it out in no time.

Still, they went through every room in the house and turned the hose on anything that was still hot.

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They left a bit of a mess behind them.

Then they gathered their stuff and began to reload the engine.

Sinead and Tom waved to their fireman again.

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The fireman pulled off his helmet – and long curly hair tumbled down his back.

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Sinead looked more closely.

It WAS! It was a woman fireman.

‘Hey!’ said Tom. ‘That’s not a real fireman at all!’

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But Sinead ran over to her.

‘Mum and Dad and Tom said there are no girl firemen!’

Sinead said.

‘Ah, but they’re wrong!’ said the fireman. ‘Anyway, we’re all firefighters now. You want to be one too, do you?’

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Sinead could hardly say yes, she was so pleased. ‘I must practise a lot,’ she said to the firefighter.

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The woman laughed. ‘Good luck,’ she said, and she climbed up on the huge engine.

The firefighters zoomed off down the street.

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Sinead turned to Mum. ‘I’m going to be a firefighter!’ she said.

‘Firefighter Sinead!’ said Mum. ‘It sounds okay to me.’

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‘I’m going to be a firefighter!’

Sinead said to Tom. ‘Cool,’ he said. ‘And maybe I’ll be one too!’

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‘You must practise!’ said Sinead. ‘But I can show you

everything .’

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Well, did you find him?

Cover: 196 x 130mm. Spine: 5.6mm

p and a s 4

Susan Cooper

ISBN 978-0-86278-529-1

p and a s for

Beginner Readers

O'BRIEN

9 780862 785291

Anna Donovan

ANNA DONOVAN lives and works in Cork.

She has also written Sinead the Dancer, Where's Murphy? and Panda Party in the PANDA series, Sinéad ag Damhsa and Cá Bhfuil Murchú? in the SOS series, Emma Says Boo! and Emma Says Oops! in the PANDA CUB series and Póga the Dragon.

FIREMAN SINEAD!

Sinead wants to be a fireman. She practises and practises, but can she ever become one?

When a real fire happens Sinead gets a big surprise!

Fireman Sinead!

words Anna Donovan

pictures Susan Cooper