The City of Mountain View Fire Department will be 150 years old on April 1, 2024. It is one of the oldest officially formed fire departments west of the Mississippi.

On April 1, 1874, the Mountain View Fire Department was formed when 50 of the town's civic‑minded residents sat around a pot‑bellied stove and a cracker barrel in the “Rogers & Rogers” Department Store and organized the first brigade for the then town of Mountain View. They called it "Mountain View Station Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1."

In honor of this historic occasion, the Fire Department will have a parade with celebrations and a public safety recruitment fair on Sunday, May 19, 2024, along Castro Street and in front of City Hall.

The parade will start at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Fire and Police Administration Building at 1000 Villa St., heading east on Villa Street towards Castro Street and south on Castro Street, ending at City Hall Plaza. We will have on display antique police, fire vehicles and ambulances, including a historic working steam fire engine from the early 1900s pulled by horses! Have you ever seen using fire to fight fire? This steam engine is a sight to see.

There will be public education booths, including an inflatable firehouse for kids and adults to learn about fire safety, a bucket brigade, and dozens of fire and police agencies with their career recruitment booths. These activities are for your whole family; this once-in-a-lifetime event is an experience kids will love and talk about for days, and adults do not want to miss it.

The event is free to attend.

For the public safety agencies attending with their recruitment units and private emergency vehicle owners attending, please sign up using the two forms below.

Register your antique emergency vehicle to participate in the parade by using the following form (https://cityofmountainview-hrhcy.formstack.com/forms/fd_parade_registration).

Register your recruitment booth at the 150th Celebration by using the following form (https://cityofmountainview-hrhcy.formstack.com/forms/fd_recruitment_fair_registration).

Call City of Mountain View Fire Department Public Information Officer Robert Maitland at 650-903-6825 with any questions.