1923 International Bickle - Revelstoke, BC - Fire Fighting Vehicles on Waymarking.com

We happened to be in Revelstoke on the day of the annual Revelstoke Show & Shine event. Took in all the cars on display, and there were a lot of nice ones, then saw the fire engines. The Revelstoke Fire Department happens to be the proud owner of a pair of their retired vintage engines, a 1938 Ford Seagrave Tandem Tanker and this 1923 International Bickle.

Restored by the fire department, they proudly bring it out for events around the area and show it off. As well they should, as the engine is in concours condition, absolutely perfect in every way. That's not to say that the Seagrave is, by comparison, a junker. It is essentially perfect, as well.

In 1923, Revelstoke, British Columbia bought this Bickle chemical and hose truck on an International Harvester (IH) chassis brand new. Bickles were manufactured in Woodstock Ontario for many years. The Bickle conversions were done on a variety of chassis, including Ford Model T, GMC, IH, Gotfredson, Fisher and Reo Speedwagon.

One may view both trucks at the Firehall Museum at:
227 W. Fourth Street
Revelstoke, BC
V0E 2S0

BICKLE - KING-SEAGRAVE HISTORY

In 1906, Robert S. Bickle (1882-1949) established the R.S. Bickle Company in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Previously, Bickle had worked as the Canadian representative for an unknown American fire equipment manufacturer...Over the next few years, Bickle sold several horse-drawn chemical carts and self-propelled fire apparatus to towns throughout western Canada.

In 1913, the operation was transferred to Woodstock, Ontario at the site of the defunct Woodstock Automobile Factory on the corner of Mill and Main Streets. Bickle decided to move to Chicago and left the firm in the hands of his brother W. Russell Bickle. At the same time, George H. King, Bickle's brother-in-law, joined the company as a sales representative. George also managed a company called Canadian Morehead Manufacturers, a builder of steam traps. During the First World War, the company built two-wheeled fire apparatus for the protection of military bases on contracts for the Canadian government...

In 1928, the Bickle brothers hired their nephew Vernon B. King (George & Anna's son), a recent engineering graduate from the University of Toronto. King designed a complete line of custom apparatus under the names "Volunteer," "Chieftain," "Woodstock" and "Canadian." This custom line enabled the company to market under the slogan "Strictly Canadian - Built by Canadians." Bickle also built trucks on a wide variety of commercial chassis. King later struck out on his own, starting a business building truck bodies and trailers...

Bickle continued to collaborate with other companies. German Magirus ladders were used to build a number of rear-mounted aerial trucks for Montréal and Québec City in the thirties. In addition, an agreement was made with Peter Pirsch & Sons to build Pirsch 85 ft. aerial ladder trucks under licence. Ahrens-Fox designs were built under licence as well. The most important alliance however, was with the Seagrave Corporation of Columbus, Ohio. In 1935, Bickle took over the production and sale of Seagrave fire apparatus in Canada and on 1 January 1936, the name of the company changed to Bickle-Seagrave Limited. This highly successful alliance allowed the company to supply fire departments with all types of apparatus and Bickle-Seagrave soon became the largest fire apparatus manufacturer in Canada. Most of these vehicles were built completely in Canada, although tractor-drawn aerials were built at the Seagrave plant in Columbus (Ohio) and shipped north...

In 1945, Bickle-Seagrave was sold to a Toronto holding company and business continued under the same name. The liaison with Seagrave continued and orders were received at a brisk pace. The company moved into a new facility in 1952. However, this new plant over-extended the financial resources of the company and it was sold again in 1954, this time to a Woodstock industrialist. The new owner tried to diversify the product line by adding road sanders and other equipment. However, financial difficulties continued. The final straw was a strike at General Motors that prevented the delivery of GM chassis. Bickle-Seagrave was unable to meet several orders and was forced into bankruptcy in February 1956. The new plant was closed and sold...
Read more at Fire Truck Archive