PHOTOS: Kalispell Fire Department showcases antique fire engines
CASEY KREIDER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months AGO
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson, left, gives a few last minute driving instructions to firefighters Don Thibert, Ben Graham and Jake Felts before they take the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson explains some of the gauges and controls on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine as fire captain Gary Daenzer looks on during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson holds a brass piercing nozzle from the 1940s stored on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson, left, gives a few last minute driving instructions to firefighter Ben Graham before taking the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson sounds the horn on the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A look under the hood of Kalispell Fire Department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Kalispell Fire Department firefighters Ben Graham and Jake Felts take the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson holds a brass nozzle from the 1940s stored on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Kalispell Fire Department firefighters Ben Graham and Jake Felts take the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson explains some of the gauges and controls on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine to firefighter Taylor Zachary during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Kalispell Fire Department firefighter Seager Higgins sprays water pumped through the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Kalispell Fire Department firefighters Taylor Zachary and Don Thibert look over the dashboard and interior of the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Casey Kreider is a staff photographer for the Daily Inter Lake. His work documents news, sports, wildlife, landscapes and everyday life across Northwest Montana through visual storytelling. Kreider’s keen eye captures major sporting events, community moments, and the natural beauty that defines the region. He is a graduate of Penn State University and previously worked as a photographer for Lancaster Newspapers in Pennsylvania. In 2024, he received the Montana Newspaper Association’s Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year award. IMPACT: Kreider's work brings readers closer to the people, places and moments that shape life in Northwest Montana through powerful visual journalism. | October 3, 2025 12:30 PM
Members of Kalispell Fire Department and retired firefighter and department historian Alan "Gus" Gustafson gave a hands-on demonstration using the department’s original 1951 PIRSCH fire engine, which proudly served Kalispell until 1992, and a 1925 American LaFrance engine, in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3.
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson explains some of the gauges and controls on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine as fire captain Gary Daenzer looks on during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson holds a brass piercing nozzle from the 1940s stored on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson, left, gives a few last minute driving instructions to firefighter Ben Graham before taking the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson sounds the horn on the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
A look under the hood of Kalispell Fire Department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Kalispell Fire Department firefighters Ben Graham and Jake Felts take the department's 1925 American LaFrance fire engine for a spin during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson holds a brass nozzle from the 1940s stored on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Retired firefighter and Kalispell Fire Department historian Alan “Gus” Gustafson explains some of the gauges and controls on the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine to firefighter Taylor Zachary during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Kalispell Fire Department firefighter Seager Higgins sprays water pumped through the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Kalispell Fire Department firefighters Taylor Zachary and Don Thibert look over the dashboard and interior of the department's 1951 PIRSCH fire engine during a demonstration in Kalispell on Friday, Oct. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
ARTICLES BY CASEY KREIDER
PHOTOS: Third-graders celebrate Arbor Day at Kalispell's Lawrence Park
Kalispell Public School District No. 5 third-graders celebrated Arbor Day at Kalispell's annual ceremony held at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24.
PHOTOS: Paul Cauthen performs at Majestic Valley Arena
East Texas singer-songwriter Paul Cauthen, aka Big Velvet, performs with opening acts Radio Ranch and Crowe Boys at Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell on Saturday, April 18.
PHOTOS: Vendors set up for 60th annual Creston Auction
Vendors unload their items and get set up in preparation for the 60th annual Creston Auction and Country Fair on Friday, April 10.