Posts Tagged different colors for fire trucks

The color of fire trucks (part 10) Division 10

Departments in MABAS Division 10 are featured in this next installment of The Color of Fire Trucks series.

Clarendon Hills Fire Department Mack Pierce TeleSqurt

Clarendon Hills ran this 1986 50′ TeleSqurt built by Pierce on a Mack CF chassis. Engine 349 had a 1,500-GPM pump and carried 500 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro photo

The Clarendon Hills Fire Department runs with apparatus that is painted white over a bright yellow. They currently have a fleet of four units with these colors.

Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District engine

One of several E-ONE units purchased by the Darien-Woodridge FPD was this 1990 top-mount Hurricane engine with 1,000 gallons of water and a 1,500-GPM pump. It ran as Engine 371. Larry Shapiro photo

The Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District currently runs with red and white apparatus. Their newest unit is solid red, and with this purchase they will retire one of the last of their lime-green apparatus which dominated their fleet for many years.

Riverside Fire Department green fire engine

Riverside Engine 306 ran with this 1978 Ford C-8000/Seagrave. It had a 1,250-GPM pump and 750 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich photo

The Riverside FD had this Seagrave engine and they also purchased another lime green rig. The second unit was a Chevy/E-ONE (DOT) light rescue, like the one shown below from Forest View.
Forest View Fire Department EONE small rescue

Forest View ran with one of the popular small DOT spec rescue squads like many other area departments. Squad 816 was built by E-ONE in 1980 on a GMC chassis. Bill Friedrich photo

The Forest View FD purchased this (DOT) light rescue. It was the only non-red rig in the fleet.
Hinsdale Fire Department EONE engine painted black and yellow

One of many units that has been purchased over the years for service in Hinsdale was this 1982 E-ONE Protector IV engine. Running as Engine 343, it was built on a Hendrickson chassis with an 1871-W cab, and carried 500 gallons of water with a 1,250-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro photo

Until 2008, all of the apparatus in the Hinsdale Fire Department was delivered black over yellow, and with the exception of their 2008 Spartan/Rosenbauer/Metz tower ladder, everything still maintains these colors.
Westmont Fire Department Pemfab Wedge engine by FTI

The Westmont Fire Department purchased this white and lime engine from FTI in 1978. It featured a 1,250-GPM pump with 500 gallons of water. It was built on a Pemfab chassis with their ‘wedge’ (Model 932-T) cab. Bill Friedrich photo

Westmont’s Fire Department had only this one non-red rig in the fleet.
Willow Springs Fire Department black E-ONE tower ladder

Willow Springs purchased this unusual 95′ tower ladder from E-ONE in 2001. Painted black, tower 600 had a 1,500-GPM pump with 300 gallons of water on a Cyclone chassis. Bill Friedrich photo

Willow Springs had this unique E-ONE tower ladder that was black. Reportedly, a developer was to build a large project in Willow Springs and was required to purchase an aerial unit for the fire department. The developer insisted on the tower being painted black.
Argonne national Laboratory Fire Department

The Argonne Labs Fire Department put together this brush rig with a 1975 IHC pickup. Brush 75 had a 70-GPM pump and a 250-gallon water tank. Bill Friedrich photo

Argonne Laboratory FD built their own brush truck. It was the only non-red in the fleet.
Western Springs Fire Department Pierce Arrow engine white fire truck

One of the many units that saw service in Western Springs when their apparatus was painted white was this 1981 Pierce Arrow engine. It was one of the early Pierce Arrow models with a chassis that was made by Oshkosh. Engine 437 had a 1,500-GPM pump with 750 gallons of water. The top-mount control station featured a hand-rail due to the large and spacious area.At this point in time, Pierce was building the cab and body. It wasn’t until later that they began to assemble the entire chassis. Larry Shapiro photo

The current Western Springs Fire Department apparatus is red and white although previously their units were all white with blue and gold trim.
Romeoville Fire Department white rescue squad

The only unit that the Romeoville Fire Department has run with that was not red was this 1979 E-ONE (DOT) light-duty rescue on a Ford F-350 chassis. Perhaps what is most unusual about this is that these were normally delivered lime green. Bill Friedrich photo

Romeoville had a white light-duty rescue by E-ONE. Most of these units were delivered lime green as per the DOT spec.

McCook Fire Department yellow Seagrave engine

This was one of two Seagrave engines that was purchased by the McCook Fire Department and was painted yellow. Engine 379, built in 1979, had 500 gallons of water with a 1,250-GPM pump. Bill Friedrich photo

Many years ago, the McCook Fire Department had red apparatus, then they switched to bright yellow for several years before the fleet was changed again to red and white.

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The color of fire trucks (part 9) Division 7

This next installment (our 9th) in our series highlighting The Color of Fire Trucks, comes again from Bill Friedrich and looks at MABAS Division 7. This MABAS division covers Kankakee County and part of Iroquois County.

Essex Fire Protection District

Essex ran Squad 1974, a 1974 Dodge Power wagon that was modified by the department. Bill Friedrich archives

This was the only white vehicle in the Essex FD fleet.
Kankakee Fire Department Mack CF Pirsch ladder

The City of Kankakee had two units on CF Mack chassis that were white over lime-green. One was this 1983 Mack CF600 with a 100′ Pirsch aerial ladder, a 1,250-GPM pump and 200 gallons of water. This was Ladder 6. Bill Friedrich archives

In Kankakee, this was one of two lime-green Macks in the fleet, both of which had white roofs. The other was a Mack-CF engine. Both are now gone from the roster.
Kankakee Township Fire Department

The Kankakee Township FPD had this 1975 IHC Cargostar 1910 with an Alexis body, 1,000-GPM pump and 500 gallons of water. It ran as Engine 84. Bill Friedrich archives

The Kankakee Township FD was all lime-green at one time. All subsequent vehicles are painted red.
Pembroke Fire Protection District

Pembroke FPD Engine 139 was a 1972 IHC Loadstar 1800 built by Central with a 500-GPM pump and 500 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich archives

The Pembroke FPD had a few lime green rigs. Now they are all red.
Otto Township Fire Protection District

Otto Township Engine 38 was this 1986 IHC S1900/Luverne with a 750-GPM pump and 500 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich archives

The Otto Township FPD had lime green at one point. Now they too area all red.
Papineau Fire Protection District

This X-Glenside FPD engine is now running as Engine 1533 for the Papineau FPD. It is a 1981 Pierce Arrow with 750 gallons of water and a 1,250-GPM pump. Bill Friedrich photo

This is the only yellow rig in the Papineau FPD fleet. It was purchased last year from the Glenside FPD in MABAS Division 12.
Bourbonnais Fire Protection District

Bourbonnais Engine 63 was a 1976 was built by Howe on a Hendrickson 1871 with 800 gallons of water and a 1,000-GPM pump. Bill Friedrich archives

The Bourbonnais FPD  had a few yellow rigs. All the others were red.
Grant Park Fire Protection District

Engine 112 for the Grant park FPD was this 1963 IHC/Central with 1,000 gallons of water and a 1,000-GPM pump. Bill Friedrich archives

This was the only lime-green rig in the Grant Park Fire District fleet. Everything else has always been red.
Chebanse Township Fire Protection District tanker

Chebanse Township FPD Tanker 2871 was a 1994/2001 Peterbilt 379 built by Midstate Tank. It carried 3,000 gallons of water with no pump. Bill Friedrich photo

The Chebanse Township FPD, in Clifton, had two white rigs, all the rest are red.
Salina Township Fire Protection District

Salina Township FPD ran Tanker 164 which was built on a 1985 GMC F-7000 chassis by Midstate Tank. There was no pump alongside the 2,000-gallon tank. Bill Friedrich archives

Salina Township still has this white rig.  At one point they had a white brush truck. Everything else is red.
St. Anne Fire Department

Rescue 10 saw service with the St. Anne Fire Department. It was a 1967 Chevy Step Van. Bill Friedrich archive

St.Anne FD had the blue rescue truck. This was repainted white/red. Everything else has always been red.

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The color of fire trucks (part 8) Division 6

This installment is from Bill Freidrich.

Eight fire departments in Dekalb County, MABAS Division 6, have had non-red fire apparatus and rescues over the years.

 

This was the only non-red vehicle in the  Cortland FD fleet.

Cortland Fire Department ambulance

The Cortland Fire Department ran this 1977/1982 Chevy/Horton Type I as Rescue 1751. Bill Friedrich photo

 

This Ward LaFrance/Hi-Ranger Snorkel was the only non-red rig in the Dekalb FD fleet. It was later sold to the Shabbona FPD and repainted white over red.

Dekalb Fire Department 1975 Ward LaFrance Hi-Ranger Snorkel

Dekalb had this lime yellow and white 85' Hi-Ranger built by Ward LaFrance in 1975. Bill Friedrich photo

Shabbona Fire Protection District 1975 Ward La France Hi-Ranger Snorkel

The Shabbona Fire Department, bought this 1975 Ward LaFrance (P80) 85' Hi-Ranger from Dekalb. Bill Friedrich photo

 

 

This squad was the only non-red unit for the Shabbona Fire Protection District.

Shabbona Fire Protection old fire truck

Shabbona had this 1975 Chevy Step-Van as Rescue 2516. It was their only piece that was not red. Bill Friedrich photo

 

 

For the Malta FPD, this was the only non-red unit in their fleet.
Malta Fire Protection District 1965 Dodge/Boyer mini-pumper

Malta ran this as Rescue 4. It was a 1965 Dodge/Boyer with a 250-GPM pump and 300 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich photo

At the Maple Park FPD, this was the only non-red rig in their house. It had been a show truck for Alexis.
Maple Park Fire Protection District Mack MC Alexis tanker

Maple Park bought this 1985 Alexis 2,750-gallon tanker on a Mack MC chassis which was built as a demonstrator/show truck. It had a 750-GPM pump and was the only non-red unit in Maple Park. Bill Friedrich photo

 

 

At the Genoa-Kingston FPD, everything today is all red. Previously though, the vehicles were all orange, red with a white paint job and white with a orange stripe.
Genoa-Kingston Fire Protection District Pierce Aerial-ETT

The Genoa-Kingston Fire Protection District used to run with a fleet that was all orange. One early unit was Engine 78, built by Pierce in 1978 on a Ford C-8000 chassis. It had a 750-GPM pump and carried 750 gallons of water. It also featured a 45' Aerial-ETT, an early aerial ladder design by Pierce. Bill Friedrich photo

The Kirkland FPD was all white. Today everything is they have is painted red.
Kirkland FPD (IL) 1961 GMC-Hower fire engine

When the Kirkland FPD ran with white apparatus, this front mounted pumper tanker from Howe was Tanker 2. It was built in 1961 on a GMC chassis. Bill Friedrich photo

The Waterman FPD apparatus is all red with the exception of this one unit.
Waterman FPD Ford McCoy Miller rescue squad

Waterman Rescue 1251, the only non-red unit in their fleet, was built in 1986 by McCoy-Miller on a Cord F-800 chassis. Bill Friedrich photo

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The color of fire trucks – Harvard/Tonica

Readers submitted comments to our recent post of non-red apparatus in MABAS Division 5 that mentioned a new life for the 1977 Ford/Welch rescue squad from Harvard.

The Harvard Rescue truck was bought by Tonica Volunteer Fire Dept, in LaSalle County in the late ’80?s and refurbed. It was then painted Chrome Yellow and White. It was sold by Tonica, to a chemical plant in Henry, IL for their Haz-mat unit. I was one of the fire personel from Tonica that went up to Marengo to get the truck when we first bought it. Tonica is a not-for-profit organization and gets no tax money. It is supported strictly by donations and grants.

Harvard Rescue Squad 1977 Welch

The Harvard Rescue Squad has this 1977 Ford/Welch unit. Bill Friedrich photo

From Bill Friedrich:

Here is the rig when it went to Tonica. Glad we shot it when it went down here. We travel quite a bit to find old friends as we say. Tonica is located in the Southern tip of LaSalle County.

Tonica Fire Rescue Squad 1715

Tonica Fire Rescue in LaSalle County ran with this 1977 Ford/Welch (X-Harvard Rescue Squad in McHenry County). Bill Friedrich photo

 

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The color of fire trucks (part 7)

MABAS Division 5 encompasses McHenry County. There are 18 departments in the division and several had non-red apparatus over the years. Only three departments had fleets that were lime green and white or yellow; the Nunda Rural Fire Protection District, the Lake in the Hills station of the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, and the Woodstock Rural Fire Protection District (now part of the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District). According to the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District website, in October of 1993, the Woodstock Rural Fire Protection District, Woodstock City Fire Department, and Woodstock Rescue Squad merged together to form the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District.

Eight other departments had red fleets, but at one time each had a unit that was painted differently. (Crystal Lake, Hebron, Harvard, the Marengo Rescue Squad, Richmond, Spring Grove, Union, and Woodstock City)

The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department  purchased a small rescue squad in 1982 that conformed to the Department of Transportation (DOT) specifications, one of which required that it be delivered painted lime green.

Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department 1982 E-ONE rescue squad

Crystal Lake bought this 'DOT' spec rescue squad from E-ONE in 1982. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District had a brush truck which was blue in contrast to the rest of the fleet that was painted red.

Hebron Alden Greenwood Fire Protection District brush unit 805

Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Brush 805 was a unique unit within their fleet painted blue. It was on a 1973 GMC chassis with a Stahl body. It carried 250 gallons of water with a pumping capacity of 450 gallons-per-minute. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Harvard Fire Protection District and the Harvard Rescue Squad ran out of the same station. The Rescue Squad had an orange and white squad which was the only piece with this paint scheme.

Harvard Rescue Squad 1977 Welch

The Harvard Rescue Squad had this 1977 Ford/Welch unit. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Richmond Fire Protection District had a rescue squad that was painted white.

Richmond Fire Protection District rescue squad

This 1967 Dodge/Stahl unit ran as Squad 1451 for the Richmond Fire Protection District. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Spring Grove Fire Protection District had a squad unit and a tanker that were painted white.

Spring Grove Fire Protection District Rescue 1807

The Spring Grove Fire Protection District had this 1977 GMC Step Van that was modified by department personnel. It was Rescue 1807. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Union Fire Protection District ran a white Ford/Darley engine in 19__ which was the only lime green piece in the fleet.

Union Fire Protection District 1975 Ford Darley tanker

Engine 1505, a 1975 Darley on a Ford L-Series chassis was the only lime green unit that the Union Fire Protection District ran with. It had a 750-GPM pump and carried 1,000 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Woodstock City Fire Department purchased a Seagrave quad in 1967 that was painted white, and  they also had a white brush truck, a 1969 Dodge W300/Welch 250/200.

City of Woodstock Fire Department 1967 Seagrave Quad

The City of Woodstock Fire Department ran this 1967 Seagrave Quad as Engine 1734. It had a 1,000-GPM pump and 300 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire District had two stations in years past. The apparatus at the Lake in the Hills station was painted yellow. They had a 1968 IHC/Welch squad and there were two additional pumpers at the Lake In the Hills station that were painted chrome yellow;  a 1972, IHC Cargostar-Alexis  750/750, and a 1975, IHC Cargostar-Bean  750/1000.

Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District 1968 Welch rescue squad

Trucks at the Lake in the Hills fire station used to be yellow and the apparatus at the Algonquin station were red. This 1968 IHC/Welch rescue squad was on of three yellow units. Bill Friedrich photo

 

The Nunda Rural Fire Protection District changed their fleet from lime green/white to red/black.

Nunda Rural Fire Protection District Engine 1336 FMC

The Nunda Rural Fire Protection District trucks used to be painted lime green and white like the 1984 Ford C8000/Darley 1250/1000 shown here. Bill Friedrich photo

 

When the Woodstock Rural Fire Protection and the Woodstock City Fire Department were separate entities, the rural apparatus was painted lime green & white.

Woodstock Rural Fire Protection District Spartan Darley top-mount engine

The Woodstock Rural Fire Protection District ran this 1986 Darley with a Spartan 4-dr CFC cab. The top-mount pump panel controlled a 1,000-GPM pump and the engine carried 1,00 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro photo

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The color of fire trucks (part 3)

The third post in this series outlines the departments in Division 2 that have converted their apparatus over the years to red.

The Bartlett & Countryside Fire Protection District had several generations of engines that were painted bright yellow. These included two Hendickson-Howe engines, one Ford-Howe engine, one Ford-Grumman engine, two Seagrave engines, and a Chevy-Super Vac squad. They switched to black over red in 1986.

Bartlett & Countryside FPD Hendrickson Howe top-mount engine

This unit that was assigned as Engine 612 was delivered in 1973 by Howe. It featured a small top-mount pump console for the 1,000-GPM pump. It carried 800 gallons of water and was on an International chassis with a Hendrickson 1871S cab. Larry Shapiro collection

The Hanover Park & Ontarioville Fire Protection District had multiple units that were white over lime green before switching to black over red in 2001. They had three Hendrickson-Howe engines similar to the ones in Bartlett, a Hendrickson-American-LTI truck, a Spartan-EONE squad, a Spartan-EONE engine, and an EONE Cyclone engine, all of which were painted white/green.

Hanover Park FIre Department Hendrickson LTI fire truck

Hanover Park ran this 1977 American Fire Apparatus unit that had a 100' LTI rear-mount aerial and was built on a Hendrickson chassis with an 1871S cab. Larry Shapiro collection.

Previous posts in this series are HERE and HERE.

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The color of fire trucks (part 2)

Last week’s posting HERE about different colors for fire apparatus mentioned area departments that have apparatus that is not red (or red & white or red & black). Several departments have switched from other colors to red, and several readers pointed out that some still have rigs with the old colors.

This is the first in a series of postings that will highlight the departments that have switched or might have had a unit in the past that was a different color than the rest of the fleet.

Division 1:

Arlington Heights once purchased a Mack CF engine that was a demo and came white over lime green.

Arlington Heights Fire Department 1975 Mack CF engine

Arlington Heights Engine 411 was a 1975 Mack CF engine with a 1,500-GPM pump and 500 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro collection

Elk Grove Village had a lime green Mack CF engine.

Elk Grove Village Fire Department Engine 118 1977 Mack CF

Elk Grove Village once owned this 1977 Mack engine with a CF600 chassis. It carried 700 gallons of water with a 1,250-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro collection

Mt. Prospect used to paint their fleet white over yellow. Over the years, this included at least five engines and two mid-ship mounted aerials.

Mount Prospect Fire Department 1975 Pierce engine Hendrickson

Mount Prospect had two engines with the Hendrickson 1871-S cab. One was built by Boyer, and this engine was built by Pierce with a 1,000-GPM pump and 500-gallon water tank. Larry Shapiro collection

Palatine had a white over lime green Seagrave engine.

Palatine Fire Department 1973 Seagrave PB-Model engine

Palatine had this one 1973 Seagrave Model PB engine with a 1,500-GPM pump and 500 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro collection

Rolling Meadows had two units that were white over lime green. In addition to this Pierce, they had a medium-duty squad with a PTO pump built by E-ONE on a GMC chassis.

Rolling Meadows Fire Department 1979 Pierce Suburban engine

Rolling Meadows ran with this 1979 Pierce Suburban engine that was built on a Ford L9000 chassis. Engine 612 carried 500 gallons of water and had a 1,250-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro collection

Wheeling apparatus used to be white over lime green. From the late 1960s when Ward LaFrance pioneered the push to painting apparatus lime green through the purchase of the 1994 Sutphen tower ladder that is currently being used, all Wheeling units had this color scheme.

Wheeling Fire Department Ward LaFrance P80 Ambassador engine

Wheeling purchased two Model P80 engines from Ward LaFrance on Ambassador chassis. In addition to this 1969 unit, they purchased a second engine in 1971. Engine 1 had a 1,250-GPM pump, 500 gallons of water, and a mid-ship elevating platform with a pre-piped deluge gun. Larry Shapiro collection

And here’s one last image to show the Palm Beach Gardens green that was referred to in the article from the Wall Street Journal.

 

Palm Beach Gardens Fire Department Rescue Engine 5 Pierce Arrow

Palm Beach Gardens Engine 5 shown here as a 1999 Pierce Arrow with a 1,250-GPM pump and 750 gallons of water. This was formerly built in 1990 on a Pierce Javelin chassis. Larry Shapiro collection

 

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