What Color Should a Fire Truck Be?

I thought I would add a little fun to my column this month and put together a photo essay about the variety of fire truck colors.

Let’s face it, depending on where you live in this great country of ours, the color of fire apparatus varies widely. For example, if you live in the Chicago area, the apparatus have been painted black over red for many years.

When I was growing up, there was no doubt that a fire truck was red. Then came a certain ophthalmologist from the New York State area who did a study that found that the lime green–or as some firefighters called it, slime green–would be a better color for apparatus, because it was more attention-getting than red, especially at night.

I seem to remember there even being some talk about trying to get the government to make lime green the standard fire apparatus color throughout the country. Many departments switched to this color on their own; however, with the exception of a few die-hards, it seemed that the go-to color has transitioned back to red or white over red.

Of course, there have been some exceptions to the rule. Many fire departments have painted their vehicles specific colors based on traditions. You will see black, blue, yellow, green and even purple apparatus, proving that just about any color can be used in combination with others.

Although you may not agree with some of these colors selected for fire apparatus, as they say, “to each their own.”

I hope you enjoy this month’s photo essay of the various colors used in the fire service today.