After 14 years of fighting fires, Battalion Chief John Q. Nelson decided to put down the hose and pick up a pen.

For 14 more years, he used that pen to create a collection of stories and document the history of the 143-year-old St. Joseph Fire Department.

“Run With The Machine: The story of the St. Joseph, Missouri Fire Department” was released July 9 during what may be the busiest time in Mr. Nelson’s career.

For the past few months, Mr. Nelson has been campaigning to become Buchanan County Western District commissioner, and the same week the book was released, he joined the race for St. Joseph Fire Department chief.

The 33-chapter book includes history and short, factual stories. It got its name from the original firetruck, the Water Witch. The truck wasn’t designed for many passengers, so firefighters had to run along beside it.

The book begins with the formation of St. Joseph’s first two fire departments — yes, two fire departments. The book concludes with several stories of experiences Mr. Nelson had while fighting fires.

“I wrote the book so we would have a documented history of who we are and where we came from,” Mr. Nelson said. “We are one of the oldest departments in the Midwest, and that’s important.”

Mr. Nelson said researching the history of the department and sifting through library documents took up most of the 14 years he used to write the book.

“This career kind of chose me,” Mr. Nelson said. “It all happened before I was ready to grow up, and now I guess I must be ready to grow up.”

A chapter Mr. Nelson had difficulty writing and discussing is entitled “The Baby,” a story of a rescue call Mr. Nelson responded to.

Some of Mr. Nelson’s words in that chapter include: “And so the little baby joined a host of other little people that will forever haunt my head. I can put them away fairly quickly, but the little ghosts that only exist in my head still come and they remind me.”

“The Rescue” is another of Mr. Nelson’s favorite chapters.

“It really shows what firefighters do and stand for,” Mr. Nelson said. “Not just St. Joseph firefighters, but all of them.”

The book can be found at Borders, Hastings or at the St. Joseph Fire Museum. Mr. Nelson has chosen to donate all profits from the book to the museum.

“I’m looking toward the end of my career and decided it’s time to give back,” Mr. Nelson said.

Megan Tilk can be reached

at megantilk@npgco.com.