Karl Klotz has submitted photos and information for the Thornton Fire Department. This is another department in MABAS Division 24 which runs out of one station and covers 2.4 square miles. Aside from a full-time chief, Thornton relies on 30 part-time personnel to staff two Osage ambulances, two engines, one 50′ TeleSqurt, one rescue squad, and a brush rig.

They have a rather interesting mix of fire suppression vehicles. Of the four units, they have one each from Fire Max, Custom Fire, Hackney, and Pierreville (a Canadian builder). One engine is on an International chassis and the rescue has a Ford F800 chassis. The other engine features an early Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis, and the TeleSqurt has an HME 1871 cab and chassis. All the apparatus is red with the exception of Truck 747 which is painted a teal green. Karl tells us that there are several schools of thought as to the choice of color for this engine. One story apparently is that the color was the result of a contest with school children in the mid 1990s. We would be interested to know if this is the reason, or if there is another reason. Perhaps someone reading this blog has an answer. If so, please share it with us.

Tags: Custom Fire, Fire Max, Ford F800, International, Karl Klotz, MABAS Division 24, Osage, Pierreville, Thornton FIre Department