1927 Julius Pearse Engine
In 1927 the town council purchased a GMC fire truck with a gear pump and a fire body that was built and installed by Julius Pearse Fire Department Supply Company in Denver, Colorado. The total cost of the apparatus and related equipment was $3,987.08, or $58,673.00 in today’s dollars, a hefty amount for a town the size of Berthoud in 1927. The chassis was ordered from Bonnell Buick Company in Loveland and drop-shipped to the Julies Pearse company on Arapahoe Street in Denver on October 5, 1927. The equipment list included lanterns, axes, a crowbar, hand extinguishers, a 20’ extension ladder, roof ladder, pike pole, spanner wrenches, hose, and nozzles. The truck specifications included a mounted search light, locomotive bell, crank siren, a 40-gallon chemical tank with hose, and a fire pump rated at 100 G.P.M. at 120 P.S.I. per horsepower furnished by the truck motor. The 1927 fire truck served as the front-line firefighting unit for the community until the late 1930’s. The truck was then moved to reserve and later retired from active service and used by the volunteer firefighters to compete in the regional fire department race team competitions.
