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Photos and description courtesy of Lindsay Dye

Engine 165 was placed in service with the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department on April 25, 2016. The cab/chassis is a Pierce Impel model (medium block) with seating for four and two forward-facing EMS cabinets—one installed on the left wall of the cab and one on the right cab wall. A Coleman Mach 3 A/C unit (13,500 Btu) mounted over the center of the cab area provides auxiliary temperature control when the apparatus is not in use. The apparatus is constructed of standard aluminum with full-depth compartments and Gortite roll-up doors. Spare SCBA storage is located adjacent to the rear wheel wells. 

Power is provided by a Cummins ISL9 450-hp engine and an Allison 5th Generation 3000 EVS five-speed transmission with pushbutton controls. The TAK-4 independent front suspension system is featured as is the Pierce Command Zone advanced electronic and control system with WiFi. An Onan 6-kW hydraulic generator (Hotshift PTO) and electronic control is located in a cargo area over the pump on the left side. 

The fire apparatus has a Hale Qmax-200 single-stage, midship 2,000-gpm pump with top-mount controls. The tank is a 750-gallon poly tank. 

The hosebed carries 1,000 feet of five-inch LDH, and two 300-foot lays of 1¾-inch hose. The front bumper tray carries 150 feet of 1¾-inch hose connected to a 1.5-inch discharge on the left center of the bumper. Speedlays (two with 200 feet each of 1¾-inch hose) are located in a semienclosed compartment beneath the pump panel. Two sections of suction hose (10 feet each) are mounted on the upper left of the hose body, and a deck gun is mounted on top of the panel. This unit features a hydraulic ladder rack on the right rear side of the apparatus that carries Duo-Safety ladders (24-foot two-section, 14-foot roof, and 10-foot folding). A Little Giant® ladder is stored in the right rear compartment.

Warning lights include a Whelen Freedom LED lightbar (88 inch), a Roto-Ray on the cab nose, two Whelen FN24 mini light bars on the upper rear corners, and Whelen M6 LED lights on the apparatus body. Scene lighting is provided by Whelen Pioneer PFP1 lights mounted behind the crew doors and HiViz LED lights mounted on each side of the protective wall for the roof mounted auxiliary A/C unit. Audio warning devices include a pedestal mounted Federal Q2B siren mounted on the left bumper area and a Whelen Model 295HFSC9 (Dual Tone) electronic siren module connected to two Whelen SA314A 100-watt speakers mounted through the front bumper. The traditional fire bell is mounted on the right front bumper area.

This unit and its twin, Engine 164, are the first in the fleet with Lewisville’s new gray over red color scheme.

Dealer: Siddons-Martin Emergency Group-Houston, TX

Representative: Travis Ownby

By Ron Heal

When the Peoria (IL) Fire Department retired Captain Dave Wenzel arrived at Fire Central for this Labor Day Parade he was surprised to see that an old friend would lead the Peoria Fire Fighters Local 50 parade entry. An almost fully restored 1931 Ahrens-Fox 1,000-gpm pumper would lead the apparatus in the parade. Dave Wenzel was on the job from 1957 until 1991. He started his fire department career as a hoseman, moved up to be an engineer, and made fire captain in 1965. In his early days as a firefighter Wenzel often worked off the back of this very same rig.

Three years ago, Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment's Web site featured a joint start-up on a “frame off” restoration on this Ahrens-Fox pumper. The Wheels O’ Time Museum and the downstate SPAAMFAA chapter HOIFEC—Heart of Illinois Fire Enthusiasts and Collectors—came together to start restoration on an 80-year-old pumper. The pumper had always been with the Peoria Fire Department, serving at several fire companies over the years. Department records show the pumper as a reserve piece of apparatus in 1958. Wenzel believes the rig was retired in the early 1960s. When you have what is now an 85-year-old fire truck, you know it would have many stories to tell. The two groups that came together to complete the restoration appreciated some of the stories that Wenzel could share.

For three decades the big pumper would be on the scene at many of the city’s major fires. Thanks to the good work Doug Brignall did in compiling “Peoria Firefighters—A Proud History,” we had some information and pictures to aid in the restoration project. What became of the pumper when it left the Peoria Fire Department is not well documented, however recent contact with another firefighter brings up the fact that Robert Johnson, a former Ahrens-Fox salesman living in Peoria back in the 1960s, made the rounds of Peoria fire stations trying to find someone to purchase the rig from him. Nobody seemed to have any interest in the old truck. It was really unloved. Exactly how Mr. Johnson obtained the rig is a story of several twists and turns known now by only a few people. There are others who recall the pumper sitting out in the driveway at Johnson’s home on Forest Hill in Peoria. Mr. Johnson always wanted to see the rig restored. Failing health prevented him from doing a restoration. At some point he came in contact with Gary Bragg and Jack Seamons, two young men who were involved members in a small museum on the far north edge of the Peoria area. Johnson eventually donated the rig to the museum with the understanding that the people out at the museum would one day restore the pumper. Bragg recalls the day the pumper was towed out to the museum. For a period of more than 30 years the truck would be stored in an out building at the museum.

Seamons and Bragg always kept Johnson’s request to have the rig restored in mind, but there was much to do to keep their museum up and running. An early attempt to restore the rig was not successful. Restoring such a big piece of fire apparatus would need a proper space to do the work, more manpower, and much needed cash. One day about 10 years ago, Bragg opened up the back shed where the pumper rested to a group of “fire buffs” known as HOIFEC. There in that shed, known as “Death Valley” sat the Ah