History of Firefighting Vehicles

Ctesibius of Alexandria is credited with inventing the first fire pump around the second century B.C. but the idea was lost, ironically, in the burning of Alexandria. The fire pump was reinvented in Europe during the 1500s, reportedly used in Augsburg in 1518 and Nuremberg in 1657. A book of 1655 inventions mentions a steam engine (called fire engine) pump used to "raise a column of water 12 m," but there was no mention of whether it was portable.

Left - 1725. Hand drawn 5th size manual fire engine. Used in England. Bedpost style pumper.
Middle - 1740. Hand drawn 3rd size manual fire engine. Used in England.
Right - 1760. Hand drawn and carried manual fire engine. Used in England.

By 1730, Newham, in London, had made successful fire engines; the first used in New York City (in 1731) were of his make (six years before formation of the NYC volunteer fire department). The amount of manpower and skill necessary for firefighting prompted the institution of an organized fire company by Benjamin Franklin in 1737. Thomas Lote built the first fire engine made in America in 1743.

The first fire engine in which steam was used was that of John Braithwaite in 1829.

Ericsson made a similar one in New York in 1840. John Ericsson is credited with building the first American steam-powered fire engine.

Left - 1820. Hand drawn manual fire engine. Built by Simpson of Pimlico, London. Used in England.
Right - 1850. Hand drawn manual estate fire engine. Used in England.

Until the mid-19th Century most fire engines were maneuvered by men, but the introduction of horse-drawn fire engines considerably improved the response time to incidents. The first self-propelled steam engine was built in New York in 1841. It was the target of sabotage by firefighters and its use was discontinued, and motorized fire engines did not become commonplace until the early 20th Century.

Left - 1866. Hand drawn manual fire engine w/ jumper. Squirrel tail mounted suction hose.
Right - 1872. Horse drawn chemical engine. Two 40 gallon tanks plus an 80 gallon reservoir and pump.

Left - 1878. Horse drawn 2d size steam fire engine. Rotary engine and rotary pump.
Right - 1890. Horse drawn hose and ladder sled. Built on Studebaker wagon chassis.

For many years firefighters sat on the sides of the fire engines, or even stood on the rear of the vehicles, exposed to the elements. While this arrangement enhanced response time, it proved to be both uncomfortable and dangerous (some firefighters were thrown to their deaths when their fire engines made sharp turns on the road), and today nearly all fire engines have fully enclosed seatings for their crews.

Left - 1913. Braidwood body style fire engine. Lima, Peru.
Right - 1918. Triple comb. Type 10 fire engine. Champion chemical tank.

Early pumpers
Early pumpers used cisterns as a source of water. Water was later put into wooden pipes under the streets and a "fire plug" was pulled out of the top of the pipe when a suction hose was to be inserted.
Later systems incorporated pressurized fire hydrants, where the pressure was increased when a fire alarm was sounded. This was found to be harmful to the system, and unreliable, and today's valved hydrant systems are typically kept under pressure at all times, although additional pressure may be added when needed.
Pressurized hydrants eliminate much of the work in obtaining water for pumping through the engine and into the attack hoses. Many rural fire engines still rely upon cisterns or other sources for drafting water into the pumps.

1920 Kissell Ladder Wagon. The Kissell Motor Car Company of Hartford, Wisconsin, was famous for its sporty cars, especially the Gold Bug. Kissell also made trucks. They built this long base chassis for their home town in 1920. The Hartford FD then placed the body from a horse drawn Seagrave ladder wagon atop the chassis and voila! they had a city service ladder truck. They kept this truck in service until about 1965.

1935 American La France Model 400 fire engine from Norfolk, Nebraska. It has a 1,250 gpm rotary pump and the famous American La France V-12 engine.

Left - 1919. Type 31-4 aerial truck.
Right - 1928. Standard city service ladder truck.

Left - 1951. Model A fire engine. 505 Thermodyne engine, 500 gpm Waterous single stage pump, 150gallon tank.
Middle - 1961. TLF-8 fire engine w/ foam trailer. 500 lpm single stage pump, 500 liter tank. Germany.
Right - 1968. Model CF600 Engine. 1,250 gpm single stage Waterous pump, 500 gallon tank.

Early aerials
As buildings grew in height since the late 19th Century, various means of reaching burning tall structures have been devised. At first, manually-extendable ladders were used; as these grew in length (and weight) these were put onto two large, old-fashioned wheels. When carried by fire engines these ladders had the wheels suspended behind the rear of the vehicle, making it a very distinctive sight which disappeared from some Commonwealth countries only in recent years.
Before long, the turntable ladder - which was even longer, mechanically-extendable, and installed directly onto a fire truck - made its appearance. Since the late 1930s, the longest turntable ladders have reached a height of 150 feet (45 metres), requiring the aforementioned "tiller trucks" to carry such ladders.
After the Second World War turntable ladders were supplemented by the aerial platform (or the "Cherry Picker") attached onto a mechanically-bending arm (or "snorkel") installed onto a fire truck; while these could not reach the height of the turntable ladder, these platforms could extend into previously unreachable "dead corners" of a burning building.

First row: Left - Argentinian Dodge truck in El Chaltén. Middle - A fire engine in Helsinki, Finland. Right - A Mercedes-Benz truck serving as Turntable ladder in Kronach/Germany.
Second row: Left - FDNY Engine 6 in New York City. Middle - Spanish Pegaso 7217 truck in Santiago de Compostela. Right - Polish Zuk van serving as a fire engine.

Thanks to Wikipedia for info.

Your Comments:

1. mike says:
   

   Pretty cool stuff, but I guess that U.S. has the most advanced firefighting vehicles.

   Posted on June 1, 2007 at 14:10
2. Canuck says:
   

   If the USA has anything "advanced" it was made in a different country.

   Posted on June 3, 2007 at 6:49
3. klorox says:
   

   The most advanced firefighting vehicle is the locally made Singapore Civil Defence Force's Light Fire Attack Vechile (LFAV) or it's nickname, Red Rhino. Google "SCDF Red Rhino" for available photos.

   June 10, 2007 at 20:52
4. Sergeant Kevin Nowicki
   

   I am searching for a set of specifications for a horse drawn, steam, fire engine. I havn't had a lot of luck, but if you could be of assistance, I would very much appreciate it.
   Thank you,
   Kevin Nowicki

   Posted on July 28, 2007 at 0:52
5. Mike says:
   

   I am looking for a 40 gallon champion steel chemical tank for a vintage Luverne fire truck.

   Posted on November 2, 2007
6. chrissy says:
   

   sum gd stuff but a bit burin!!!!

   Posted on November 29, 2007 at 11:33
7. Joann Schaefer nee(McDaniel) says:
   

   I have a picture of my dad Joe McDaniel, a fireman here in Norfolk,Ne. on the running board of said picture 1935 American LaFrance.

   Posted on December 30, 2007 at 19:42
8. Neil McDaniel says:
   

   Regarding the 1935 LaFrance fire truck from Norfolk, Nebraska. My Dad drove that truck many times during his career with The Norfolk Fire Department. My son who never met his Grandpa also had his picture taken with this fire truck when he was about 4 years old. It also appeared on the front page of the local newspaper in the early 60's.

   Posted on January 14, 2008 at 20:18