This newly updated encyclopedia of fire engines from all over the world charts their history from Roman times to the super-advanced firefighting machines that we rely on today. An A-Z of fire engine manufacturers depicts each type, from General Motors in the USA and Metz in Germany, to Hino in Japan. There is documentation of early fires, including the Great Fire of London, and a section on modern-day fire brigades provides facts about training, uniforms and special rescue techniques. With 700 photographs, many depicting fire engines in action, this fabulous book is an essential history, identifier and source book of fire engines and firefighting.

Firefighter: The Drama and Humour of a Dangerous Professionis the work of former firefighter Neil Wallington, whose fire brigade career began in Croydon in 1963. After sixteen years service in the London Fire Brigade, he moved on promotion to West Sussex and then Bedfordshire before taking command of the Mid Glamorgan Brigade. He concluded his uniformed service as Chief Fire Officer of Devon Fire and Rescue Service. In 1974, Neil was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct for his part in the protracted teamwork rescue of four firefighters buried a sudden building collapse during a major London hotel fire. He has also served as the International President of the Institution of Fire Engineers and nowadays acts as a consultant on various fire and rescue matters, is the editor of a Middle Eastern fire magazine and organises international fire and rescue conferences. In the book, the author draws upon his personal experiences in the harsh physical world of the fire service to describe the hard slog of training school, the first fatal fire, and the suffering and injury witnessed so often by fire crews. In addition to firefighting, a number of road and other crashes, leaking toxic chemicals, explosions and a wide variety of emergencies in all weathers, day and night, are graphically recalled, as are struggles with children and animals stuck in all sorts of predicaments. Throughout the pages of this book, the humour of the fire service shines through. This highly absorbing and exciting true life account reflects the often-dangerous, frequently dramatic and sometimes surprising world of the modern firefighter.

The fact that London was not burnt to the ground in the Second World War is a direct tribute to the Fire Service of the time. In 1940, incendiaries and highly explosive bombs rained down on London for 57 consecutive nights. This is the story of that time and of the men and women who worked through some of the fieriest and most dramatic nights of Britain's history.