Pierce Manufacturing is a fire-apparatus builder based in Appleton, Wisconsin, and a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation. Founded in 1913 as a maker of custom truck bodies for the Ford Model T, it grew into the largest manufacturer of firefighting apparatus in the United States, with its own chassis lines and a broad range of pumpers, aerials and rescues.
Pierce fire apparatus at a glance
| Maker | Pierce Manufacturing, Appleton, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1913, by Humphrey Pierce and his son Dudley |
| First products | custom truck bodies for the Ford Model T |
| Parent company | Oshkosh Corporation since 1996 |
| Custom chassis | Arrow, Dash, Lance, Quantum, Saber, Enforcer, Contender |
| Commercial chassis | Ford, Freightliner, Kenworth, International, Peterbilt |
| Aerial devices | steel and aluminium ladders and platforms, water-tower booms |
| Pumpers | midmount and rearmount, mini and wildland types 1–6 |
| Rescues | heavy, medium and light, walk-in and non-walk-in |
| Electric model | Pierce Voltera |
| Scale | largest fire-apparatus manufacturer in the United States (2017) |
No individual Wikipedia pages exist for the Pierce chassis lines; this article is based on the English Wikipedia article on the company. Production dates are given there as ranges.
History of the Pierce fire apparatus
From Model T bodies to custom chassis
Pierce was founded in 1913 by Humphrey Pierce and his son Dudley as the Pierce Auto Body Works Inc., building custom truck bodies for the Ford Model T. The first production facility was designed in 1917 and enlarged in 1918 by the architect Wallace W. DeLong. From the 1960s to the early 1980s the company concentrated on custom bodies mounted on commercial and other manufacturers’ custom chassis, working as an original equipment manufacturer. In 1996 Pierce became a wholly owned subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation; in September 2021 it acquired an ownership interest in Boise Mobile Equipment of Boise, Idaho.
The Arrow name and the aerial business
Pierce used the Arrow name for its first custom chassis, which appeared in 1979, although the company has no connection with the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company of Buffalo. For many years Pierce relied on outside specialists for aerial devices, among them Snorkel, Pitman, Aerial Innovations, Ladder Towers Incorporated, Smeal, Bronto Skylift and Nova Quintech, whose assets Pierce/Oshkosh bought in 1997; today it designs and builds its aerial devices in-house. Besides its Wisconsin plants, Pierce has a facility in Bradenton, Florida, where the Saber chassis and the Responder line are built. In December 2017 the company was described as the largest manufacturer of firefighting apparatus in the United States, and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in Virginia operated the largest municipal fleet of Pierce apparatus.
The model lines
The custom-chassis range changed repeatedly. The Dash was built from 1984 to 1999 and was followed by the Dash 2000 and later the Dash CF; the Lance ran from 1985 to 1993 and continued as the Lance II and Lance 2000; the Quantum was offered from 1995 to 2023. The Enforcer appeared in 2000, was dropped in 2007 and reintroduced in 2014, while the Contender was built from 1999 to 2010 and the Arrow XT from 2003 to 2023. Alongside these chassis Pierce offers commercial-chassis apparatus on Ford, Freightliner, Kenworth, International and Peterbilt bases.
Design and features
- Own chassis lines: the Arrow, Dash, Lance, Quantum, Saber, Enforcer and Contender were Pierce’s own custom chassis rather than bought-in commercial frames.
- Aerial range: steel and aluminium ladders and platforms, rearmount, midmount and tractor-drawn, plus telescoping water-tower booms.
- Pumpers: standard and rescue pumpers in midmount and rearmount form, pumper-tankers, elliptical tankers, mini pumpers and wildland types 1 to 6.
- Rescues: heavy, medium and light walk-in and non-walk-in bodies, plus homeland-security, command, communication and rehab vehicles.
- Voltera: an electrically powered truck offered alongside the diesel range.
Pierce fire apparatus versions
- Dash family (1984–2020): Dash, Dash D-8000, Dash 2000 and Dash CF.
- Lance family (1985–2007): Lance, Lance II and Lance 2000.
- Quantum (1995–2023): the long-running custom chassis.
- Enforcer and Contender: Enforcer from 2000 to 2007 and again from 2014; Contender from 1999 to 2010.
- Arrow XT (2003–2023): the last of the Arrow-named chassis.
- Commercial-chassis apparatus: bodies on Ford, Freightliner, Kenworth, International and Peterbilt chassis.
The Arrow name is not connected with the Pierce-Arrow luxury car, and the Pierce Four motorcycle came from the same Buffalo family of companies. More in the Pierce collection.
Sources
- Pierce Manufacturing, English Wikipedia: history, chassis lines, apparatus types, facilities
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