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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Tags: Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire District, Bill Friedrich, Crystal Lake Fire Department, Darley top-mount pumper, different colors for fire trucks, FMC Roughneck pumper, Harvard Fire department, Hebron-Alden-Greenwood FPD, Larry Shapiro, MABAS Division 5, Marengo Rescue Squad, Nunda Rural FPD, Richmond Township Fire Protection District, Spartan CFC chassis, Spring Grove Fire Protection District, the color of fire engines, Union Fire Protection District, Welch rescue squad, Woodstock Fire Rescue District, Woodstock Rural Fire Protection District