Ordering Information
$69.00, 8.5×11, hardcover, 1236 pages, 733 images
ISBN: 978-1-937721-04-6
Available: Stevens Goldsmith, 522 Old Walpole Road, Surry, NH 03431. Or call (603) 252-7903.
A Demon Called Fire: A History of the Keene, N.H. Fire Department 1745–2003
Compiled by Stevens W. Goldsmith, Deputy Fire Chief, Retired
Drawing on extensively researched original source materials, A Demon Called Fire chronicles the 250-year history of a single, small-city fire department, while also capturing the changing America throughout the industrial revolution and the transition of volunteer citizens’ groups into professional fire services. A true contribution to New Hampshirite and American history, this beautifully illustrated historical almanac brings to life both the technological changes in firefighting and the social changes that went along with them; from the growth of private fire insurance and legal requirements for each household to own leather fire buckets, to the growing dangers of arson, nuclear accidents, and terrorism that departments must increasingly train to recognize and deal with.
A retired Deputy Chief of the Keene Fire Department with over 30 years of service, Goldsmith has compiled the only complete history of the Keene Fire Department in existence, using articles chronicled in the Keene Sentinel (one of the longest-running newspapers in the country), the City of Keene Annual Reports, and excerpts from the Keene Fire Department Scrapbook. He uses additional information, images, and articles derived from his own knowledge of the department and personal writings. The changing prose style over the centuries in the newspapers and other source materials Goldsmith references makes for highly entertaining reading. Likewise, the book’s photographs of firefighting antiques—from badges to buckets, and engines to uniforms—will delight firefighters, historians, and collectors alike.
Technology changes, but the firefighter’s vow to protect the public stays the same. A Demon Called Fire preserves the concerns of the people in the community of Keene in their own words, whether dealing with the comical (a 103-year-old’s birthday candles tripping a fire alarm), the bizarre (a derailed trainload of pigs), the sentimental (a retired fire engine horse sold to the milkman still “answering the call” when the alarm bell rings), or, more commonly, the tragedies and the heroism always on display in the face of the ever-present “demon,” fire.
About the Author
Stevens Goldsmith was born and raised in Keene, New Hampshire. He attended Keene school and graduated from Keene High School, after which he entered the United States Marine Corps and served 21 years, retiring in 1992 after Desert Storm. Stevens also found his calling as a firefighter with the Keene Fire Department and worked with them for over 30 years, until he retired as Deputy Fire Chief.