Established in 1947, the Santa Clara County Fire Department provides fire services for Santa Clara County, California (light green in the map below) and the communities of Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga. The department also provides protection for the unincorporated areas adjacent to those cities.

Wrapping in an approximately 20 mile arc around the southern end of "Silicon Valley", the Santa Clara County Fire Department has grown to include 15 fire stations, an administrative headquarters, a maintenance facility, five other support facilities, 19 pieces of apparatus and 3 command vehicles, to cover 128.3 square miles (267 square km) and a population of over 226,700.

The department employs over 288 fire prevention, suppression, investigation, administration, and maintenance personnel; daily emergency response consists of 66 employees. The department's suppression force is also augmented by approximately 30 volunteer firefighters.

Staffing levels, equipment, and water supplies have improved dramatically over the past decade, resulting in an improved ISO rating. In most communities served by the Department, business owners and residents enjoy a Class 2/5 (47% Suburban area with an ISO rating of 2, and 53% Wild land Urban Interface with an ISO rating of 5) fire insurance rating that was awarded in 1996.