Recommended and Reference Reading

photo: Volunteer FF Brian Floyd

This page lists all known book and periodical references to the Santa Clara County Fire Department and it's apparatus, and recommended reading for Fire Service Personnel and those that wish to become one. This list is kept as complete as possible; additional references would be appreciated.

Firefighting Reference and Study

Department History and Yearbooks

County Fire Apparatus

Magazine Articles about County Fire

Related Periodicals

Firefighting Reference and Study

The bible of firefighting, upon which the department's training is based, and the best study book for prospective firefighters, is Essentials of Fire Fighting, Fire Protection Publications, Oklahoma State University. Currently in it's 4^th edition, it is available from the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA). This book covers all the basic aspects of firefighting. IFSTA also publishes numerous other more specialized firefighting training manuals, many of which are used by the department.

Several reference guides used by the department were written by County Fire Volunteer FF Jill Meryl Levy. Her books include The First Responder's Pocket Guide to Hazardous Materials Emergency Response, (3^rd edition), Hazmat Chemistry Study Guide (2^nd edition), The Hazmat Chemistry Mini Review, Take Command of Your Writing and Crimes Against the English Language. These books can be seen at and obtained from Firebelle Productions.

County Fire FF/E Tim Jew has written NESTBOOK™, a series of translation phrasebooks for emergency service personnel. These phrasebooks, available to translate from English into more than 17 different languages, are designed to assist fire, medical and law enforcement personnel in quickly communicating during emergency situations. More information can be found at Nestbook, Inc.

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Retired County Fire Captain Bob Romanoff has put together a Firefighter Self-Guided Walking Tour of San Francisco, for those interested in San Francisco and Firefighting. This free, non-profit site can be visited at www.sanfranciscoffwalk.com.

Department History and Yearbooks

Much of the department history on this website up to 1975 was taken from "The History of Central Fire District", a report for the Fire Science 136 course (Department of Fire Science, Cooperative Fire Science Education, San Jose City College), written in May 1975 by Edward C. Barber, and reviewed by then-Chief Curtis J. Kirby. As far as is known, it is not available to the general public, and there is no record of it on the SJCC Library database.
The history of the Campbell Fire Department, up to its merger with County Fire, is covered in "Campbell, the Orchard City" by Jeanette Watson (former mayor of Campbell), Š1989 Campbell Historical Museum Association, 51 North Central Av, Campbell, CA 95008. It is generally available in Santa Clara County libraries. Much of the history of Campbell Fire on this website came from this book, pages 173-182.
The history of the Los Gatos Fire Department, up to its merger with County Fire, is covered in "History of Los Gatos - City of the Foothills" by George G. Bruntz, Š1971 Western Tanager Press (Valley Publishers), 1111 Pacific Av, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; ISBN 0-934136-30-0. It is generally available in Santa Clara County libraries. Much of the history of the Los Gatos Fire Department on this website came from this book, pages 83-88.
The history of the Saratoga Fire Department, up to its merger with County Fire, is extensively covered in "Saratoga Fire - A Century of Volunteer Fire Fighting in Saratoga, California" by April Halberstadt, Š2008 Saratoga Historical Foundation, POB 172, Saratoga, CA 95071, 408.867.4311, www.saratogahistory.com, ISBN 978-1-4276-3179-4.
Several additional photos of Los Gatos Fire Department history were obtained from "Images of Long Ago", Š1987, Mardi Bennett, ed. Published by Robert Pease & Co., Alamo, CA. Library of Congress number 87-61567. This book is also generally available at Santa Clara County libraries. It also contains a brief historical quotation by retired Chief Sporleder.
Some historical photos of the Los Altos Fire Department were obtained from Los Altos - Portrait of a Community, Š1999, Paul D. Nyberg, ed. Published by Select Books, Los Altos, CA. ISBN 0-9634623-0-X. It is available at Santa Clara County libraries.
Brief mention and some photos of County Fire and the (pre-merger) Los Altos Fire Department and the Campbell Fire Department paramedics are on pages 80-81 of Silicon Valley - Inventing the Future - A Contemporary Portrait, Š1991, by Jean Deitz Sexton. Published by Windsor Publications, Chatsworth, CA. ISBN 0-097813898. It is available at Santa Clara County libraries.
Three department yearbooks have been published, by the department. These have not been made available for sale to the general public.
- Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District - 1993 (hardbound, 128pp)
- Fire Department - Santa Clara County - Commemorating 50 Years of Service (softbound, 1997, 28pp)
- Santa Clara County Fire Department - 60 Years of Courtesy and Service 1947-2007 (hardbound, 132pp)

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County Fire Apparatus

Several authors of fire apparatus books are either located in the South Bay area, or acquired some of their material from the area when writing the following books. The hardcopy books listed below contain photos of current and past apparatus (and members) of the Santa Clara County Fire Department, the departments that have since joined County Fire, and neighboring fire departments.

This has made researching information about the historical apparatus shown on this site a bit easier. In addition, it's fun to be able to pick up a internationally published book and find photos of the fire engine parked across the street.

Halberstadt, Hans: "The American Fire Engine", Š1993 Motorbooks International, Osceola, WI; 0-87938-750-5
McCall, Walter M.P.: "100 Years of American LaFrance - An Illustrated History", Š2005 Iconographix, Hudson, WI; ISBN 1-58388-139-5
Phillips, Lawrence E.: "American LaFrance - 900 Series 1958-1964 Photo Archive", Š1999 Iconographix, Hudson, WI; ISBN 1-58388-002-X
Sorensen, Wayne and Wood, Donald: "Motorized Fire Apparatus of the West 1900-1960", Š1991 Transportation Trails, Polo, IL; ISBN 0-933449-11-9
Wood, Donald and Sorensen, Wayne: "Big City Fire Trucks, Volume I 1900-1950", Š1996 Krause Publications, Iola, WI; ISBN 0-87341-340-7
Wood, Donald and Sorensen, Wayne: "Big City Fire Trucks, Volume II 1951-1996", Š1997 Krause Publications, Iola, WI; ISBN 0-87341-492-6
Wood, Donald and Sorensen, Wayne: "Fire Chief Cars 1900-1997 Photo Album", Š1998 Iconographix, Hudson, WI; ISBN 1-882256-87-5

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Articles about County Fire

The Silicon Valley Community Newspapers (Cupertino, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno, Campbell, Saratoga), Morgan Hill Times (Morgan Hill), and the Los Altos Town Crier (Los Altos/Los Altos Hills) cover the communities that County Fire serves, and provide on-line article archives. The San Jose Mercury News also has occasional articles about the department.
Using the search feature provided by all of these newspapers will find many archived articles about the department, its firefighters, and events that have involved them. Suggested keywords include "County Fire" and "firefighter."
County Fire is mentioned in an article about the San Jose Santana Row fire in the June 2004 issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.
A comprehensive description of the department is available in an article by Captain Steve Prziborowski in the American Fire Journal magazine, September 2001 issue, pages 12-16.
Fire Apparatus Journal had a detailed article about the department's recent apparatus purchases and status changes in it's May-June 2003 issue, pages 12 & 14.
It had an article about the department's apparatus purchases, as well as a photo of the newest Engine 4, in it's May-June 2002 issue, page 13.

In addition, other issues of Fire Apparatus Journal contain brief mentions of the department:
- March-April 2006 issue, page 15
- September-October 2004 issue, page 13
- January-February 2004 issue, page 13
- September-October 2003 issue, page 12
- January-February 1996 issue, page 10
- November-December 1995 issue, page 10
- July-August 1995 issue, page 11
A photo from this website was used in the Weekly Reader 1st Grade edition, October 2004 issue #2.

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Related Periodicals

Below is a list of some other firefighting-related periodicals. These do not contain information specific to the department, but are good for general reference. This list is not necessarily complete. (These listings are for reference only, and not a recommendation or endorsement by the department.)

Firefighting/Rescue:

Advanced Rescue Technology

American Fire Journal

Fire & Rescue Magazine (New Zealand Fire Service)

FireRescue Magazine

Fire Engineering Magazine

Firehouse Magazine

Homeland First Response

Industrial Fire World

London Firefighter (in-house magazine for the London Fire Brigade)

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