Specialist training books, supplied across Africa
The textbooks fire, rescue and EMS courses are actually built around
A certification does not come from a video. It comes from a course, and the recognised courses are built around a specific textbook and a specific edition. SkillsTrain imports and supplies those validated manuals, from more than 20 global specialist publishers, led by Jones and Bartlett and NFPA. We supply and support the books. We do not author or accredit the training.
Why the book still matters
In a world of apps and video, the manual is still the exam
Certification exams are written against the official manual, not a summary of it. An accredited programme that wants its qualification recognised has to teach from current, approved material. When the standard moves, the required edition moves with it. That is the part people miss until an assessor asks to see the book.
SkillsTrain sources and supplies the current, publisher issued editions that African fire, rescue and EMS programmes teach from, and confirms the edition your accreditation needs before you order.
Shelf one and two, fire and hazardous materials
Fire and HazMat
The heart of the range. Firefighter, fire officer, instructor, inspection, investigation, building construction and hazardous materials titles, with Jones and Bartlett titles alongside the long established IFSTA manuals.
Essentials of Fire Fighting, 8th Edition
Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer, 7th Edition
Fire and Emergency Services Instructor, 10th Edition
Fire Inspection and Code Enforcement, 9th Edition
Fire Investigator, 3rd Edition
Pumping and Aerial Apparatus Driver Operator, 4th Edition
Fire and Emergency Services Orientation and Terminology, 7th Edition
Fire and Life Safety Educator, 4th Edition
Fire Protection, Detection and Suppression Systems, 5th Edition
Building Construction Related to the Fire Service, 4th Edition
Facility Fire Brigade: Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition
Wildland Firefighter: Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition
Hazardous Materials for First Responders, 6th Edition
Hazardous Materials Technician, 3rd Edition
Shelf three, technical rescue
Rescue
A pillar in its own right. Rope, confined space and vehicle extrication, plus search and rescue and aircraft rescue and fire fighting.
CMC Rope Rescue Technician Manual, 6th Edition
Rope Rescue: Principles and Practice, 5th Edition
Confined Space: Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition
Principles of Vehicle Extrication, 4th Edition
Principles of Passenger Vehicle Extrication, 5th Edition
Principles of Heavy Vehicle Extrication, 1st Edition
Fire Service Search and Rescue, 8th Edition
Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, 7th Edition
Vehicle Extrication: The Next Generation
Shelf four, EMS and medical
The specialised medical shelf
Led by the certification texts most African EMS programmes ask for, from the flagship trauma course text through to the Oxford clinical handbooks. Every title is the publisher's own work, sourced and supplied by SkillsTrain on request.
PHTLS: Prehospital Trauma Life Support, 10th Edition
- Sanders' Paramedic Textbook, Jones and Bartlett
- Nancy Caroline's Emergency Care in the Streets, Jones and Bartlett
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (the Orange Book), Jones and Bartlett
- PHTLS: Prehospital Trauma Life Support, Jones and Bartlett with NAEMT
- AMLS: Advanced Medical Life Support, Jones and Bartlett
- Oxford Handbook of Pre-hospital Care, Oxford University Press
- Sheehy's Manual of Emergency Care, Elsevier
- ECSI First Aid, CPR and AED line, through the Jones and Bartlett channel
Who we supply
The publishers we import into Africa
Every book we supply is the publisher's own work, imported and distributed by SkillsTrain. Here is where to start.
Jones and Bartlett Learning
The leading name in firefighting and EMS training publishing, often co-branded with the AAOS, NAEMT, the IAFC and NFPA. Home of the flagship EMS titles, the PHTLS trauma text and a full technical rescue set.
NFPA
The National Fire Protection Association, the standards body itself. NFPA publishes the codes and standards every other training book maps back to. We supply the current editions.
And more than 20 specialist publishers
Including Elsevier Health Sciences, Wiley, CMC for technical rope rescue, ECSI for first aid and CPR, Oxford University Press for the clinical handbooks, and the South African law publishers Juta and LexisNexis for local statutes.
IFSTA, available on request
The long established fire training manuals, including Essentials of Fire Fighting, from IFSTA and Fire Protection Publications at Oklahoma State University. Bring us the title you need and we will source it for you.
One reason to check your library now
The standards have just been consolidated
NFPA has spent recent cycles collapsing dozens of separate qualification standards into a handful of consolidated ones, and every major publisher is re-issuing its textbooks to match. From mid 2026 a wave of agencies moves across to the new consolidated firefighter standard, NFPA 1010. If your programme is still teaching from a book mapped to a retired standard, this is the moment to check.
| New consolidated standard | Replaces | In plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| NFPA 1010 | 1001, 1002, 1003, 1005 | One firefighter qualification standard: Firefighter I and II, driver and operator, airport and marine fire fighting |
| NFPA 1550 | 1500, 1521, 1561 | One responder health and safety standard: occupational safety, the safety officer and safety at the incident |
| NFPA 470 | 472, 473 | One hazardous materials standard for responders |
Editorial note. Standards and editions do shift. We keep our list current, but always confirm the exact edition your accreditation requires with your certifying body before you order.
The current catalogue, or one title
Tell us the field, the publisher, or the title on your reading list
We will confirm the current edition, check availability and send you a price. If it exists in fire, rescue, EMS or safety training, we can usually source it. For the fully searchable version, with filters for shelf, type and publisher, see the full training catalogue.
SkillsTrain imports, supplies and supports these books across Africa. We do not author them and we do not accredit training. Accreditation sits with your programme and its certifying body. Prices move with import and exchange rates, so we quote on request.