Engines and Other Apparatus of the Milwaukee Fire Department

The vehicles and other firefighting equipment of the Milwaukee Fire Department, like the department itself, are unique among the fire service. It built more of its own apparatus than any other American city and few can match the scope and character of apparatus used to serve and protect life and property in Milwaukee.
Through detailed research, firsthand narratives, and captivating photos, the author walks the reader through the fascinating history of the incredible machines that served Cream City from the mid-nineteenth century to modern times. This volume traces the ever-changing face of Milwaukee’s fire-fighting and life-saving equipment in parallel with the city’s own history and growth. The fire department workshop’s reputation for ingenuity is shown through its adaptations to disastrous fires that brought about changes in laws, economic growth and decline, the establishment of Milwaukee’s ethnic neighborhoods, the difficult transition from horses to motorization, the wartime and post-war experience, the corporate world of apparatus manufacturers, and Milwaukee’s fireboat fleet.

Literary and documentary film consultant, Wayne Mutza has published more than thirty books and numerous articles. He lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Wayne Mutza

Format: softcover (8.5 x 11)
Pages: 318
Bibliographic Info: 411 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8078-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3886-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments viii
Preface 1
Introduction 3
One—The Boys and Their “Enjines” 7
Two—Horsepower 14
Three—Motorization 49
Four—World War II and the 1940s 93
Five—The Fabulous Fifties 125
Six—The Turbulent Sixties 166
Seven—A ­Well-Oiled Machine 203
Eight—Change and More Change 236
Nine—The Nineties and Beyond 261
Ten—Specialized Departments 280
Eleven—Where Did They Go? 291
Bibliography 307
Index 309

“Loaded with excellent photos to illustrate [the] history…This comprehensive work will stand as the bible of Milwaukee fire apparatus.”—Fire Apparatus Journal