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The color of fire trucks (part 2)

Apr 18

Posted by bgshap in Fire Service News | 3 Comments

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

Tags: Arlington Heights Fire Department, different colors for fire trucks, Elk Grove Village Fire Department, fire engines are not always red, fire trucks are red, Hendrickson 1871-S cab and chassis, Larry Shapiro, lime green fire trucks, Mack CF engine, Mount Prospect FIre Department, Mt. Prospect Fire Department, not all fire trucks are red, Palatine Fire Department, Palm Beach Gardens Fire Department, Pierce Suburban model engine, Rolling Meadows Fire Department, Seagrave PB model engine, the color of fire engines, Wheeling Fire Department, yellow fire trucks

The color of fire trucks

Apr 11

Posted by bgshap in Fire Service News | 14 Comments

The Wall Street Journal has a story which touches on the time honored fire service debate about the color of fire apparatus. The article is a piece about a small district in Florida which maintains a fleet that is painted a non-traditional color.

Throughout the rest of the country, red is the typical color for emergency vehicles—fire-engine red as the shade is often and aptly called. But for nearly four decades, firefighters in Palm Beach Gardens have opted for a garish yellow-green that they argue is easier to spot from a distance, even in the pea soup of a South Florida summer thunderstorm. The proof that Fire Chief Pete Bergel often cites: In his 30 years with the city, no fire-department vehicle has been rear-ended. The color “is in your face,” he says.

Throughout the rest of the country, red is the typical color for emergency vehicles—fire-engine red as the shade is often and aptly called. But for nearly four decades, firefighters in Palm Beach Gardens have opted for a garish yellow-green that they argue is easier to spot from a distance, even in the pea soup of a South Florida summer thunderstorm. The proof that Fire Chief Pete Bergel often cites: In his 30 years with the city, no fire-department vehicle has been rear-ended. The color “is in your face,” he says.

Local departments that are not red include Elk Grove Township in Division 1, Pingree-Grove and Rutland-Dundee in Division 2, Glencoe in Division 3, Fox Lake and Winthrop Harbor in Division 4, Clarendon Hills in Division 10, Fox River & Countryside in Division 13, Coal City in Division 15, Lisle-Woodridge in Division 16, Elwood in Division 19, and Crete in Division 27.

Over the years, many departments in the area have switched to red or a red two-tone color scheme from white, yellow, and lime green.

The complete Wall Street Journal article can be found HERE.

Tags: green fire engines, not all fire trucks are red, Palm Beach Gardens Fire Department, red fire engines, the color of fire engines