San Francisco Fire Apparatus 1849-2010
ON THE BOOK SHELF
By John M. Malecky April, 2026
San Francisco Fire Apparatus 1849-2010
Hand drawn-Horse Drawn-Morotized
By Lt. Bill Koenig, SFFD Historian &
Milton Yuen, SFFD Inspector
Available from:
FSP Books
433 Main Street, Suite 2A
Hudson, MA 01749
1-800-522-8518
E-mail: support@fire-police-ems.com
Price; $49.95
This is a hard covered coffee table book measuring 8 ½ inches by 11 inches and has 300 pages plus a 4 page index. It is a magnificent job done by the two gentlemen one of which is retired from the SFFD and is the historian. The other is a civilian inspector whose name is familiar to me because many years ago we corresponded about San Francisco’s Fire Department. San Francisco has always had a special place in my heart. Back in the ‘60’s when I was a teen I used to write away to different fire departments and apparatus manufacturers to ask for photos and brochures and had good results. It was a different time back then. When I wrote to San Francisco they not only sent me photos by also an annual report. They have been well known for building some of their own bodies in the shop but also for repurposing some apparatus by placing different bodies on existing chassis. Through the years they also had many interesting makes of apparatus. They even had two Cadillac chief cars at different times. After the dedication and introduction there are three sections with a total of five chapters detailing records of their apparatus through the years. Many quality black and white as well as color photos apparatus are intertwined in the pages. There is also information about the manufacturers. The Appendix covers chief’s buggies from 1893-2007, Patents by SFFD members, 1875-1934,Corporation Yards and Ladder Shop, Horses, St. Francis Hook & Ladder Society-SFFD Muster Team and Fireboats and the Airport Land Division. After the Acknowledgements and Conclusion there is a list of Line of Duty Deaths followed by the index. Without saying, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in fire department histories and apparatus. it is well worth the price..
No information from the author.
