Author(s): Kent Parrish

Automobiles

While fully custom rigs have traditionally been the pin-ups of fire apparatus, the backbone of the American fire service has always been trucks built on commercially available chassis. Although there have been many commercial chassis providers throughout history, there is arguably no more recognizable name in the American automotive industry than Ford. This book serves as a pictorial history of the role Ford chassis have played in the evolution of fire apparatus. Fire trucks of all types built on the famous Model T, the long standing F-Series, the venerable C-Series, the honorary Louisville-Line, and other miscellaneous Ford models have prolifically and efficiently served towns small and big alike since the advent of motorization. This chronicle pays homage to the contributions this automotive legend has made to the fire service with a brilliant display of classic rigs and modern machines, with representatives from over 150 fire apparatus manufacturers - from the glamour queens themselves to smaller builders with characteristics just as neat as their big name peers.