I also love reds with a lot of fragrance. I have:

Rouge Royale
Papa Meilland
Beloved
Griffs Red
Francis Dubreuil
Ingrid Bergman (not much fragrance)
Chrysler Imperial
Ruby Ruby: cute mini with mild fragrance
Crimson Glory

I've had Mr. Lincoln twice. It died once and I SP'd it last fall. Stingy bloomer and the color wasn't consistently deep red.
I would go get FF. Now...hurry!!! :-)

I bought and planted 3 Firefighters because that's DH's job. And even though it is their first year, I must report that I am simply in awe of this rose!

First of all, the scent is just heavenly! It has a nice strong scent that meets me long before I get my nose into it!

Second, the blooms are near perfect to me considering color, size and lasting time. Not to mention, the rebloom time on this rose is remarkable as well!

And as for vigor - when I planted about a month ago it had about 30" stems at the most. Now this rose has already grown near 5'! Some may think that it is lanky, but I like the long stems and the bush is full of foliage that rounds it out nicely!

IMHO, you definitely should get this rose. I don't think you will be disappointed!

Shelly

Artemis & Shelly,
THANK YOU so much for responding! Maybe that's what I'll do this afternoon after work! Now the question will be (if they are still there)-should I get one for $18.99 or 2/$35. LOL :0) Phyl

If your nursery doesn't still have the Firefighter, you can order it from Northland Rosarium.......I just received a big healthy specimen in the mail yesterday!

Lynn

I keep a half dozen to a dozen in a vase constantly. They perfume whichever room they are in. My favorite cutting rose.

Hardiness, I have no clue.

I bought FireFighter this spring from S&W Greenhouse. It came from Weeks Roses and is grafted so I ASSUME it is on Dr. Huey. It is in a 3 gallon pot with minimal care. It has beautiful dk red blooms which don't "blue" and is fragrant. In fact, walking by it last night (about 3 feet away)I got a whiff of fragrance and the other roses in the vicinity blooming I knew had no smell so I walked over and it was FireFighter. Am VERY PLEASED with this purchase and I am not usually "big on Reds" LOL.
Jim
PS- Hope it is still there.
By the way, the roses from S&W had the longest roots I have ever seen on bareroot roses and they all arrived in excellent condition and are doing very well. Bought them at the spring sale. This was my first purchase from S&W and I would rate them an A++

FF is new for me this year and I LOVE it. Smell is incredible and talk about straight cutting stems. Perhaps this will entice you:

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Gorgeous Jeff! time to open a bridal floral shop! lol! Wow that backyard bouquet you've got going in the background would make perrrrrfect long-stemmed roses... Their stems are sooo thick, beautiful flowers!

aurora, your photos of firefighter knocked my socks off! Honestly spoken I didn't care too much about firefighter, don't even know why, but now seeing your photos and reading the positive comments of all the others, I definitively have to rethink my opinion.

I have a question about the color of the flowers of this rose. Is the color of FF a more warm red or a more cool-bluish red like Mr. Lincoln seems to be? Could be that I have ruled this rose out in the first place, because I was thinking it is a warm red, which I am not too much into...

Definitely cool-bluish red for me (but I'm color blind so I might not be 100% accurate). Mine last much longer on the bush than Mr. Lincoln also! However time will tell how it stands up to our summer weather.

Jeff

Jim-east-coast: just had to tell you that I live 15 miles from S & W Greenhouse and I'm completely addicted to that nursery! In fact, I have to call him in march to see when he opens so I can be there the first day! And I usually end up going at least once or twice a month until July! Can't resist his roses or his great deals!

Shelly

Jeff, thanks for letting me know about the color of firefighter. Now I have no explanation anymore, why I rejected the rose in the first place, in fact it looks like it is a wonderful rose that meets exactly my desired profile for red roses.

By the way, I am also a little color-blind, so I guess I will perceive the rose in the same way like you do :-)!

Those photos were OUTSTANDING, Aurora!
Thank you, EVERYONE, for your input! Tuesday night my husband and I FINALLY picked up one of the 2 FF's that was STILL at the nursery (I wasn't so sure either would still be there). It is still in its pot, as it is raining right now....and I wasn't sure where to put it! Gary says he'll transplant an iris to a different place (& divide it) and make room for FF.
I can't wait to see it bloom!
:0) Phyl