FIRE ENGINES, Fred Crismon, 1997.
Motor vehicles are an integral part of our daily lives. None, however, are as important as the fire apparatus and rescue vehicles that have been the heart of every American community since the early 1900s. With only a moment's notice, these beautiful, powerful machines become the guardian of life and property.
Fire Engines is a unique collection of over 300 black and-white photographs chronicling the evolution of the motorized fire engine. From the primitive fire vehicles of the early-ears of this century to the advanced apparatus we see today, this book covers them all. Here are the great fire trucks produced by American LaFrance, Seagrave, Ahrens-Fox, Pierce, Mack, and other fire equipment companies.
Fire Engines features 300 photos of American fire engines from turn-of-the-century horseless carriages to the modern American LaFrance, Seagrave and Macks. It is a nostalgic scrapbook of archival and contemporary photos that highlights the evolution of the motorized fire engine.
CONTENTS: Acknowledgments; Preface; CHAPTER 1 - Before 1910; CHAPTER 2 - 1910-1919, The Decade of Improvements; CHAPTER 3 - 1920-1929, Better Roads and Faster Trucks; CHAPTER 4 - 1930-1939, The Age of Streamlining; CHAPTER 5 - 1940-1949, Fighting Fires During the War; CHAPTER 6 - 1950-1959, The Introduction of Cab-Forward Design; CHAPTER 7 - 1960-1969, Turbine Engines and New Transmissions; CHAPTER 8 - 1970-1979, Diesel Engines, Minipumpers, and Hazardous Material Trucks; CHAPTER 9 - 1980-1989, Bigger and Better Fire Apparatus; CHAPTER 10 - 1990-PRESENT, The Era of Specialized Trucks; Glossary; Manufacturers; Index.
Author Fred Crismon is a truck historian and a fire engine authority. His previous books include U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles, U.S. Military Tracked Vehicles, and International Trucks.
8 1/4" x 10 5/8", 160 pages, 300 B&W photos, softcover BF4972 / $21.95