This collection gathers the papers of James O. Page, the "father of modern EMS" which span nearly a half century of active service in the fire and Emergency Medical Services fields. The material is separated into two main bodies: Page’s personal papers and library, organized by his standards and according to a system of his devising, and the papers and library compiled and organized concurrently with his directorship of the Advance Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation. The material spans the length of Page’s career, from the 1950s to his death in 2004, and collectively forms a detailed picture of the development of the field of emergency medical services, through the efforts and research of one of its most influential proponents.

James Page was born on August 7, 1936 in Monterey Park, California, where he first worked as a firefighter before joining the Los Angeles County Fire Department in 1959. His first assignment for the county was at Fire Station 11 in Altadena, where he worked as an Engineer (today called a Fire Fighter Specialist) until testing for and being promoted to the position of Fire Captain in the Agoura area. While working in this capacity, Page was also pursuing an undergraduate, and later, law degree, which he received from Southwestern Law School in 1970. He passed the California State Bar exam a year later. During this time, Page was transferred to Fire Station 7 in Hollywood and became principally involved in the implementation of the department’s countywide paramedic program. It was also during this time that Page’s station was visited by one of the producers of what would later become Emergency!, a television program based on the department’s paramedic rescue program. Page became the lead technical advisor for the program until 1973, occasionally contributing written material through Writer’s Guild sponsorships. The show’s success helped catalyze the incorporation of emergency medical service units as a standard feature of fire services. In 1972, Page was certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

40.2 linear ft. (93 document boxes and 3 record carton boxes)

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the History & Special Collections for the Sciences (UCLA Library Special Collections) public services desk for paging information.