Throwback Thursday (Ft Worth Fire Department Pump 21)
Throwback Thursday (Ft Worth Fire Department Pump 21) This FWFD apparatus is believed to be from the mid to late 1960’s and was made by Pirsch. Peter Pirsch founded Pirsch and Sons, a Wisconsin based manufacturer of fire apparatus. Pirsch was very successful from the 1920s through the 1980s. In 1926 came the first complete Peter Pirsch fire engine, these were 150 to 750gpm pumpers, chemical and hose trucks powered by 6-cylinder Waukesha engines. In 1928 came a pumper with fully enclosed cab, the first of its kind from a major US manufacturer, and in 1931 a one man operation hydro-mechanical aerial ladder hoist used on an 85 ft articulated ladder truck. Pirsch and Sons discontinued production of their trucks in the early 1980s after reorganization of the company, with the last truck coming off the line in 1987. A big thanks to Bill Anderson for providing us with the photo of today’s “Throwback Thursday” photo. A2
