In this reprint from a September, 1953 issue of Fire Engineering Magazine, the Peter Pirsch & Sons Co. of Kenosha, WI highlights 50 years of building fire engines for the Chicago Fire Department. The ad states that they started with 27 Pirsch Horse Drawn Wagons built in 1907, then there were 3 Pirsch equipped motorized chemical and hose cars in 1912 (the first motorized apparatus in Chicago), followed by 2 Pirsch equipped 600-gallon pumpers in 1916, and then 15 Pirsch 1,000-GPM 2-door cab pumpers built in 1953.

Bill Friedrich collection

Tags: 1907 Pirsch Horse Drawn Hose Wagon, 1912 Pirsch chemical and hose car, 1916 Pirsch pumper, 1953 ad from Fire Engineering Magazine, 1953 Pirsch pumper for Chicago, Bill Friedrich, Chicago Fire Department, Chicago Fire Department apparatus history, Chicago Fire Department history, historic truck photos, historical photos of Chicago Fire Department, Peter Pirsch & Sons, vintage 1953 issue of Fire Engineering Magazine