FARMINGTON — “History of the Farmington Fire Department 1850-2000: A Volunteer Fire Department” by former Chief Robert L. McCleery will be released this month.

With firemen and events updated to 2017, this is a 150-plus year chronicle of Farmington’s glorious firefighting past. The book was compiled, edited and updated by daughter Ruth McCleery Watson.

It includes 500 firemen listed by date of service and rank, 700-plus fire incidents with 18 fatalities and 68 incidents of property loss in excess of $50,000.

The book tells the story of the life of a firefighter, which is so much more than fighting fires. It could make you laugh; it could make you cry. The story is written to witness life’s best when working with children and citizens to make the town safer, rescuing a hiker on a mountain or finding a missing person; and life’s worst when you cannot save a person from a burning building, a family pet, livestock, home and property or an accident victim, or when as a first responder, you respond to a murder or suicide scene.

It’s a history, a memoir, a biography, and a daughter’s personal reflections of a beloved father. The book becomes available Sept. 13.

Book launch is from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at The Homestead Bakery, 186 Broadway. Light refreshments served. It will also be sold at the Farmington Fair Exhibition Hall, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, Sept. 18 and 20.

The book will be for sale at Devaney, Doak and Garrett Booksellers, 193 Broadway or at info@ddgbooks.com.

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