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06/04/2026

Congratulations to New Castle Fire District #1 and The Chappaqua Fire Department on their purchase of a Pierce Enforcer Pumper . This unit will be delivered in September of this year through the Pierce stock truck program.

Come get a look at this interesting configuration here:
https://firematic.com/pages/new-castle-fire-district-1-chappaqua-pumper-45468.html

Sales Representative: Jeff Horn

06/04/2026

8,800 gallons per minute. Eight separate water sources at once. One machine.

In 1965, the FDNY Super Pumper entered service and became the most powerful land-based fire pumping unit the world had ever seen. Designed by naval architect William Francis Gibbs and built by Mack Trucks for $875,000, it was powered by a 2,400 horsepower Napier Deltic 18 cylinder diesel engine connected to a DeLaval six-stage centrifugal pump capable of moving 8,800 gallons of water per minute at 350 psi. For context, a standard FDNY engine at that time pumped between 750 and 1,000 gpm.

The Super Pumper was born out of necessity. On April 20, 1963, a day known as Black Saturday, over 80 fire companies and 1,300 firefighters responded to brush and lumber fires across Staten Island during a severe drought. The lack of water supply nearly overwhelmed the department. Gibbs, who had already designed FDNY's legendary fireboat Fire Fighter, proposed a land-based solution with the same massive pumping capacity.

Housed in a specially built station in Brooklyn at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge, the Super Pumper and its full system of tenders responded to more than 2,200 calls across all five boroughs over 17 years. It was retired on April 24, 1982.

This image from our collection captures the Super Pumper in 1965.

Now we want to hear from you: What is your favorite piece of FDNY apparatus, past or present? Drop it in the comments.