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Peter Pirsch was the son of a pioneer Wisconsin wagon
builder who patented a compound trussed extension ladder in 1899 and went on
to make hand- and horsedrawn ladder trucks. His first motorized ladder
truck was on a Rambler chassis, and this was followed by others based on
Couple Gear, White, Duplex, Nash and Dodge. In 1926 came the first complete
Peter Pirsch fire engines; 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 85ft articulated ladder truck. By this time Pirsch were building mostly
on their own chassis, although others occasionally used were Sterling
(1933), International (1936) and Diamond T (1937). Cabs were bought from
General Motors for many years. In 1938 came the first 100ft aluminum alloy
closed lattice aerial ladder which became a Peter Pirsch specialty and is
still used today.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s a wide range of fire
engines, including articulated ladder trucks were made, with power coming
mostly from Hercules or Waukesha engines. All these had their engines under
hoods, and the first cab forward model came in 1961 with a flat-fronted cab
which is still used today. Conventionals and cab-forwards were made through
the 1960s with little change, and Pirsch were also offering their
specialties on other chassis such as Ford and Mack CF. Very few
conventionals were made after 1970, and current production centers on rigid
and articulated cab-forward units, mostly with diesel engines. Pirsch still
builds on commercial chassis in addition to their custom fire apparatus.
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