Spartan Fire & Emergency Apparatus, Inc. was established in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1973. At that time Spartan was awarded the franchise for sales and service of Pierce Fire/Emergency Vehicles in the state of South Carolina. At the time there were 3 Pierce vehicles in South Carolina. As of January 2006 more than 400 Pierce trucks have been sold in South Carolina.

Spartan began as a "one-horse" operation with Bob Fore as "chief cook and bottle washer". A few years later Ken Dittemore joined Spartan as a service technician. In 1988, Priscilla Vann joined the company to serve as office manager. The year 1991 saw Robby Fore become part of our team as a sales representative and in 2004 became president.

Also, since 1991, our team has seen Carter Jones and Chris Harris become part of our sales force. Jay Hammett has become our Parts Manager and Lee Inman our Service Manager.

Since 1973, Spartan, as all of us associated with the fire service, has experienced tremendous growth and change.

The very first "Class A" pumper sold by Spartan in South Carolina was to the Croft Fire Department in Spartanburg for an astounding $14,000.00. This was a Ford F-series 750 gpm pumper. A comparable unit in 2006 would be approximately $135,000.00.

Over the years we have experienced many changes due to NFPA, ISO, DOT, OSHA, EPA, etc. The responsibilities for any agency related to the fire service have changed dramatically.

Until the early 1980's it was practically unheard of to have a diesel engine in a fire truck. Today, only diesel engines are permissible. Four-door enclosed cabs came along about the same time.

The fax machine, the cell phone and e-mail changed our ways of communicating and conducting business in general during the '80's and 90's.

On September 11, 2001 our world was rocked forever by the horrific terrorist attacks of New York City's World Trade Center buildings.

In 2004, Spartan had outgrown its office space and shop facilities in Spartanburg. The purchase of an 7,000 square foot office/shop facility in Roebuck, South Carolina has provided the much needed space to expand our sales and service.

In summary, Spartan's history has been, to say the least, colorful and exciting. The most rewarding results are the "honest to goodness" friendships and relationships that have developed with the dedicated people in the fire service throughout South Carolina.