The fire truck gets firefighters to their destination and is their frontline weapon.

For generations, Pierce Manufacturing has set the gold standard in fire truck manufacturing, crafting more than 2,000 custom packages. Pierce builds fire trucks at its mega-facility in Appleton, Wisconsin, using space-age technology and exacting specifications.

National Geographic goes inside this mammoth 800,000-square-foot operation, where more than 1,500 highly skilled workers mix muscle and high-tech tools to create made-to-order rigs.