L.N. Curtis & Sons

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L.N. Curtis & Sons is a large West coast supplier of fire and rescue equipment. The company has offices in Oakland, CA, Seattle, WA and Salt Lake City, UT. The company sold complete fire apparatus from the 1940s to the 1970s.
== History==
L.N. Curtis was established in 1929 selling resuscitators and other equipment to fire departments. In the late 1940s they became a fire apparatus dealer for the Maxim Motor Company, constructing a few bodies on incomplete chassis (along with Heiser in Seattle). Shortly after becoming a dealer for Maxim, it was determined that there was a market for lower priced locally built apparatus. LN Curtis opened a fabrication shop in 1948 and began production of fire apparatus on commercial truck chassis. 
By the early 1950s the company was contracting out most of the work out to local fabricators. Earl Sherman & Company of Oakland, CA and the George Heiser Body Company of Seattle, WA would become the companies primary builders. The Heiser built equipment is often badged as Curtis-Heiser.
L.N. Curtis exited the fire apparatus market in 1980. 
==Notable users==
The Seattle Fire Department bought many Curtis-Heiser pumpers between 1950, and the early 1970s, most being built on a Kenworth Chassis. The Oakland Fire Department bought several L.N. Curtis pumpers using the Ford C series chassis in the early 1970s.
==External links==
L.N. Curtis and Sons
==Sources== 
*Sorenson, Wayne and Wood, Donald F. Motorized Fire Apparatus of the West 1900-1960. Polo, IL: Transportation Trails 1991. ISBN 9780933449114
* McCall, Walter M.P. Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2007. ISBN 9781583882528
*Smith, Howard T. Maxim Fire Apparatus Photo History. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2004. ISBN 9781583881118
Category:Defunct American fire apparatus manufacturers