For more than a half-century, heavy rescue trucks have played a vital role in plucking hapless souls from such precarious situations as fires, auto accidents, floods, and other disasters. This comprehensive history uses a collection of 400 factory and on-scene photographs to examine and depict the evolution of these life-saving vehicles and their specialized equipment. The book features rigs from early builders like Gerstenlager, Swab, and Reading, along with modern trucks from well-known companies like E-One, Pierce, Saulsbury, and Supervac. The trucks are shown in both small towns and major metorpolitan areas across the United States.