Although Pemfab began making custom-built chassis only 15 years ago, the company has come up with several design innovations that have altered the look and style of firefighting, Gergel said.
"We were one of the first in the business to come out with a tilt cab that could house up to five men inside," said Gergel, who has been in the truck manufacturing business since 1951. "In fact, we came out with a model that can hold up to 10 men inside a custom-built cab that is tailored to specifications for large city and urban firefighting units."
The decision to put more firefighters inside the cab was done more for safety than for comfort, Gergel said. Firefighters were periodically thrown
from the exposed rear portions of fast-moving trucks as they made sharp turns, he said. The lawsuits that resulted from those accidents convinced fire companies that their crews would be better protected sitting up front in enclosed cabs - "especially if they are going into a hostile area in a city, where they would be exposed to violence," he added.
Pemfab's history as a metal fabricator dates to 1914, when it started as a small metal workshop in Pemberton Township.
"We are actually three companies rolled into one," said Charles Gardner, Pemfab's president. "About 45 percent of our business comes from building chassis tailored to the purchaser's specifications. But another 45 percent is
from our precision metal products, such as enclosed metal cabinets for electrical systems and metal fabricated components."
