The very first fire trucks were not made until 1841 in New York. For years before that, the pumps were on wheels that were pulled by the firemen as they ran to wherever the fire was. In time, the pumps were pulled by horses, but the firemen still had to run and were sometimes exhausted by the time they reached the fire.

When the first fire trucks were manufactured, the firemen didn’t immediately take to them. They didn’t trust the process and felt that the trucks were dangerous in and of themselves. It was 1841, so the fire truck was steam powered and they felt the vehicle was untrustworthy.

By the 1930s, the firetruck was in use and ladders started being installed on the sides so that firefighters could reach buildings that were suddenly being built much taller. The 40s saw the small buckets on the ends of the ladders used to, not only, reach taller buildings but work up there, too.

By the 60s, the trucks that we see today were being built, they had automatic pumps, ladders and buckets for the firefighters to work from, but they also had enclosed seating for the safety of the firemen who were driving to the fires.