The fully professional FD of the City of Lisbon (owned/operated by the Municipal Council) went through a major modernization process in the early 1930’s, when it became named BSB. With regard to apparatus the animal-traction has then come to an end, by means of the purchase from Germany of a lot of 29 Mercedes-Benz/METZ firefighting and command vehicles (it is believed that it was, at the time, the largest order to METZ ever). Part of this order was a sub-fleet of 5 Mercedes-Benz (Nürburg model) 5-seat light/first strike engines dated 1931, which would carry the District Officer-on-Duty concerned by the 1st alarm to the fire-ground. The only remaining car is depicted herewith (photo credit: private file) and is kept, well preserved and in good running order, in the RSB (former BSB) Fire Museum, in Lisbon. This small apparatus carried 350 liters of water plus: a booster hose atop the mid-ship tank, a number of lengths of ø 50mm hose on a removable wheeled reel and 4 sections of ø90mm suction hose, along with an enclosed/PTO METZ pump. The rig also carried one 8 feet long Portuguese style wooden hooks-ladder (a middle-lenght folding distinctive variation from the Pompier ladder) and was retrofitted with 2-way radio device (see Driver-side), an innovation at the time…