The author refers to the firefighters as "jakes" at least three times.
That is a very odd writing style.
What the hell does it mean?
Definition as per the Firefighter Terms website.
Jake - A term used to refer to a good firefighter. One story has the term originating from the corruption of the phrase “J-Key”. Years ago, the bed was the most expensive piece of furniture in a dwelling. Since firefighters were not as good at stopping fire as they are today, they would attempt to remove as many belongings as possible. The bed was too large to carry out in once piece and had to be disassembled using a bed key. The key was shaped like the letter J and was called a J-key
I just looked up the word in some slang dictionaries I found online.
NONE of the definitions are complimentary.
I have a feeling this is a personal nickname uswed by the author which has a different meaning that usual.
The term “Jake”, when referenced to firefighting originated in Boston and came from the term “J” Key which came from the shape of the key carried by Fire Dept. members to open the Fire Boxes at street corners, When a fire was detected there was a cry for the “J-Key” which over time got shortened to Jake. Firefighters in Boston are still known as Jakes and the highest form of compliment is to be called a “ Good Jake”.
http://www.firehall.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-3046.html
Jake = firefighter, very common term used in Boston.