Fire engines - USA: books - manuafacturers (3/4)

Pierce Fire Apparatus 1939-2006

Founded by Dudley and Humphrey Pierce in 1913, the Auto Body Works, of Appleton, Wisconsin, became noted for producing custom utility bodies on commercial truck chassis. In 1939, the Auto Body Works began building fire apparatus bodies to supplement its business. The company would eventually assume the name of Pierce Manufacturing.
Propelled by an association with the famous Snorkel device and the introduction of products that would become fire service trends, Pierce became the new giant in the fire apparatus industry. Today, Pierce Manufacturing is a division of the Oshkosh Truck Corporation.

This book vividly illustrates the history of Pierce fire apparatus from its first fire apparatus bodies to its ultra modern machines of today. The progression of Pierce fire apparatus is displayed through the use of black and white photographs from both well known fire apparatus photographers and company archives.
Included are apparatus deliveries from every state in the United States, as well as exports to other countries, and examples of nearly every model and variation produced by Pierce. A vibrant colour gallery shows fire apparatus in a wide array of colour schemes specified by Pierce customers and displays the finest photographs available.

Pirsch Fire Apparatus 1890-1991

The first book published exclusively on fire trucks produced by the Pirsch company of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Best known for the invention of the world's first all-powered aerial ladder, the Pirsch company also produced a variety of fire trucks.
From hand-drawn ladder wagons in the 1800s to modern diesel-powered pumpers and aerial ladders, the factory produced thousands of trucks for fire departments, military and private fire brigades all over the world.

Contained in this book are photos of some of Pirsch's unique apparatus, including a pumper built to travel on railroad tracks and a huge smoke ejector built on a custom-built chassis. Factory photos show the different types of fire equipment and trucks produced on both custom and commercial chassis.

Saulsbury Fire Rescue Apparatus 1956–2003

Known in the fire apparatus industry for innovation and high-quality craftsmanship, Saulsbury Fire and Rescue Apparatus is a true American success story. Founded in 1948 as a small, local builder of apparatus, the family-owned business began to grow during the 1960s and 1970s as more and more area departments began ordering their new apparatus from the company due to the superior craftsmanship and attention to customer requirements.

Over its 54+ year history, the company built numerous unusual and interesting trucks, most of which are included in this book. High-quality photos and informative captions illustrate Saulsbury's unique and interesting designs.

Classic Seagrave 1935-1951

Fire apparatus aficionados Walt McCall and Matt Lee have assembled these beautiful photographs to illustrate the wide range of body designs used on the classic Seagrave chassis. See all kinds of classic Seagraves, ranging from wide-open doorless cab models with sporty one-piece fold-down windshields, to radically streamlined completely enclosed Safety Sedan bodies.
This design was utilized for virtually every type of fire apparatus - pumping engines, aerial ladder trucks of both the straight frame and articulated tractor trailer type, city service ladder trucks, quadruple and quintuple combinations, and special units like rescue squad trucks and hose trucks.

The classic Seagrave is timeless. Its distinctive waterfall grille is widely regarded as a high mark in the 20th Century American fire engine builder's unique art. If you're a fire apparatus enthusiast, you'll want to add this book to your collection.

Pierre Thibault Ltd. Fire Apparatus 1918-1990

Pierre Thibault Ltd. was Canada's largest and best known manufacturer of fire engines. Throughout its history, Thibault built every type of fire apparatus imaginable - engines, ladders, platforms, rescues, and specialized units on both commercial and its own line of custom cabs and chassis. Hand-picked photos, with detailed captions, create a magnificent photo history of Thibault's fire apparatus that will appeal to all fire apparatus enthusiasts.

TASC Fire Apparatus 1946-1985

TASC (Trautwein And Sons Co.) made interesting use of sheet metal and graceful lines to produce some of the most stylish fire apparatus rigs. Now, take a photographic look at this small, New Jersey manufacturer of classic fire apparatus.

Photos depict the variety of chassis that were utilized by this builder. They show a progression from the mid-1940s through 1985 and from small commercial chassis to the final few custom units.
Today, many of the earlier units exist as parade pieces while some of the later rigs remain in service with various fire companies. Every fire apparatus buff will enjoy looking at these elegant rigs.