Conrad Dietrich Magirus (26 September 1824,

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

– 26 June 1895, Ulm) was a German

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

pioneer and entrepreneur. He is credited with inventing the mobile fire ladder.

Life and work

Magirus was the son of a grocer and factory owner and pursued commercial studies in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He later became director of the Ulm Gymnastic Society. In 1846, some of its members became Ulm's first official company of firefighters. In 1850, Magirus took over his father's business and published his history of firefighting techniques, ''Das Feuerlöschwesen in allen seinen Theilen''. Due to the success of his firefighting and fire safety efforts, he was appointed Commander of the Ulm Fire Brigade in 1853. On July 10 of that same year, he was the principal founder of the ''Deutscher Feuerwehrverband'', an association of professional firefighters, which still exists. He soon put a second fire engine in operation and worked to improve the organization and technology of the fire-fighting process. His experience with the brigade eventually led him to the idea of mobile fire ladders. In 1864, he became a partner in the newly founded Eberhardt Brothers company, a manufacturer of firefighting equipment. In 1866, after a disagreement with the Eberhardts, Magirus founded his own fire equipment company. In 1887, Magirus passed control of the company to his sons Heinrich, Otto and Hermann. He died in 1895. There are streets named after him in Ulm, Stuttgart and Berlin. In 1911, the company became "C. D. Magirus AG". This company later became "Magirus-Deutz" and, today, is part of Iveco Magirus. An annual prize, named after Magirus, is awarded to the "Best Fire Brigade Team of the Year" in Germany.

Company highlights

* 1872: A free-standing, mountable two-wheel ladder was produced. * 1892: The first

turntable ladder A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an ...

, with a height of 25 meters, was placed on the market. * 1903: The first self-propelled steam fire engine was built. * 1904: The world's first turntable ladder with a fully automatic drive was introduced.Martin Burkhardt: ''Schaffe, schaffe - Pioniergeist macht Industriegeschichte'', in: VDI Nachrichten vol.8, September 2000, S. 77.

References

External links

Feuerwehr-Magazin: Magirus Prize Winners 2013
History of firefighting Companies based in Ulm 1824 births 1895 deaths 19th-century German inventors Emergency services in Germany {{Germany-engineer-stub