What Colour are fire engines UK?

If you have an iPhone, you've probably asked Siri a question or two.

But, have you tried asking Siri why fire trucks are red? Go ahead. I'll wait while you do.

Or if you're one of those Android users, well you're just out of luck.

Just kidding. Google it — you'll thank me later for the laugh.

On a more serious note, there are many theories about why fire trucks are red. But, of course, some departments don't follow the norm. There are yellow, blue, purple, pink and even black fire trucks running calls all around the country.

Why fire trucks are red

Here's a history lesson for you.

Some believe fire trucks were first painted red because of early cars.

In the 1900s, Henry Ford suggested the color black for his Model T Ford's due to the cheap cost and durability of the paint.

With so many black vehicles, it is said that fire brigades wanted the rigs to stand out. Another theory suggests that fire departments wanted their trucks to feature the most expensive color — which was red at the time.

However, scientifically, certain colors can cause havoc with a person's vision.

The science of color

A study released in 2004 by Lt. James D. Wells Jr., on behalf of the Florida Highway Patrol, discusses whether red or blue emergency vehicle lights are easier to see on the road. In short, the study found that red lights were easier to see during the day and more difficult at night.

If we associate Wells' findings with the desired color of fire trucks, then why are we still painting them fire engine red?

In England, research conducted by the Lanchester College of Technology and Coventry Fire Brigade in 1965 concluded that the color lime or bright yellow was actually easier to see in a variation of lighting — including at night. Research findings also suggested that the color yellow was more visible during inclement weather.

In response, most U.K. fire service vehicles started including retroreflective yellow markings on their rigs.

And these findings just don't apply to our friends across the pond — we're progressively seeing more and more lime or bright yellow rigs in suburbs and smaller cities around the U.S.

In fact, Stephen Solomon, a New York optometrist, and James King promoted the use of "lime yellow" over the traditional red for fire apparatus in their four-year study published in 1995. Solomon and King concluded that red is a poorly detected color. They analyzed accident data from the Dallas Fire Department and found that crash-related incidents involving apparatus were three times greater for red or red and white fire trucks compared to lime-yellow and white trucks.

Another study by Solomon also concluded that lime-yellow fire trucks were half as likely to be involved in intersection accidents.

As a result, in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Dallas Fire Department began replacing their red apparatus with lime-yellow. Later on, the department bought red apparatus with white cabs.

Why paint color doesn't matter

However, in 2009, a U.S. Fire Administration study looked at how to reduce morbidity and mortality of first responders operating on U.S. roadways. While the study mentions Solomon's research and the validity of lime-yellow being an easy color for the human eye to discern, USFA researchers concluded that the paint color was not important.

Rather, they suggested it was more important that drivers recognize what the vehicle is for. For example, if a town's community does not associate lime-yellow with fire trucks, then the color may not be as visible as predicted.

The study also concluded that retroreflective striping significantly increases an apparatus' nighttime visibility. The NFPA released a voluntary national standard in 2009 for apparatus that required retroreflective striping.

Regardless of any study's findings, one thing is for certain: there won't be a mandatory country–wide apparatus color change coming any time soon.

Traditional red fire trucks will continue to drive and respond to emergency calls. But if you see lime-yellow, fluorescent green and orange rigs en route to a scene, stop for a second and wonder why. Maybe you'll be the next researcher or scholar to dig into how we can keep our communities and crews safer.

And if you do, be sure to let Siri in on your findings.

[Read next: How to buy apparatus (eBook)]

This article, originally published Jan. 13, 2017, has been updated.

Published: 23:11 AEDT, 3 September 2022 | Updated: 23:45 AEDT, 4 September 2022

Fire brigades have been told to 'fight fires not culture wars' after it was revealed they spent over £17,000 painting fire engines in rainbow colours.

The colourful paint jobs were approved by several fire and rescue service chiefs  across England since 2017 in inclusivity and recruitment drives.

The rainbow flag has been used a symbol of LGBT pride since the late 1970s.

The highest spending fire brigade on rainbow painted fire engines was by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, who spent £4,320.

'Fight fires not culture wars': Fire brigades have spent over £17,000 painting fire engines in a rainbow colours

The colourful paint jobs were approved by several fire and rescue service chiefs across England since 2017 in inclusivity and recruitment drives

This expensive paint job came from the service's annual budget which was £23.2million in 2020/21.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue spent around a thousand pounds less, paying £3,390 in the last few years.

The service has an annual budget of around £61million in 2022/23, rising from £58.5m in 2021/22.

Spending on rainbow-themed designs on fire engines was £2,284 at Suffolk Fire and Rescue, according to a Freedom of Information request by the Sun.

Suffolk fire brigade's annual budget for 2019/20 was around £21.5million. 

Across the country, around £35,000 more has been spent on rainbow items including flags.

Tom Ryan, from the thinktank the TaxPayers' Alliance said that fire chiefs need to recognise that 'expensive rainbow wrappings' do not help deliver 'heroic life-saving' fire fighting services we all need to save us in crisis. Pictured: A firefighter inspects a building as firefighters tackle a blaze which broke out near Southwark Bridge and London Bridge Station earlier this month

Tom Ryan (pictured), from the TaxPayers' Alliance slammed the spending saying that taxpayers 'are being ripped off in the rush to be right on'

Tom Ryan, from thinktank the TaxPayers' Alliance slammed the spending saying that taxpayers 'are being ripped off in the rush to be right on'.

He said that fire chiefs need to recognise that 'expensive rainbow wrappings' do not help deliver 'heroic life-saving' fire fighting services we all need to save us in crisis.

Fire services should 'fight fires not culture wars,' he said.

Oxfordshire County Council told the Sun that its rainbow paintjob used on one of their older fire engines contributed to its 'equality, diversity and inclusion' goals.

Rainbow colours were chosen by Dorset & Wiltshire to 'promote inclusivity' and that the rainbow designs were 'beyond its operational'.

Dorset & Wilts said its decoration was 'beyond its operational' and rainbow colours were chosen 'to promote inclusivity'.

The colourful designs were a 'relatively cheap way to advertise' according to Suffolk Fire and Rescue.

LIKE THE telephone box and the bobby's helmet, the red fire engine has become a national icon. But just as British Telecom has switched to new clear booths and police forces are experimenting with flat caps, so fire services are now painting their engines white.

The switch is based on research showing that the traditional red appliance turns black under bright lighting and is harder to spot in traffic than vehicles of other colours. It is hoped that the change will reduce the number of accidents involving fire engines and improve their response times.

One fire service has already switched to white and at least four others are preparing to follow. A report on white engines is being sent to the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association.

"If these white fire appliances prove successful it is possible that other brigades will follow suit, resulting in the familiar red fire engines vanishing from Britain's streets," said Simon Hoffman, editor of Fire magazine.

The public has responded favourably to the introduction of eight white engines by Grampian Fire Service in Scotland, earlier this summer.

Gordon Kennedy, the deputy firemaster, said: "Hopefully we will now be more conspicuous. This brings us into line with the other emergency services."

He said other fire services would be switching to white in coming months. Two Scottish and several English services have been to see the Grampian vehicles with a view to changing their own fleets.

Mr Kennedy said that the region had a reputation for trendsetting within the fire service. Its decision to change fire uniforms from navy blue to mustard - so that chemical spills would be visible - has now been copied by many English fire chiefs.

The red fire engine has been ingrained in the British consciousness through images ranging from the toytown brigade in the BBC children's programme Trumpton to the televised drama series London's Burning. The prospect of it changing colour is likely to dismay fans. But the evidence in favour of dropping tradition in favour of practicality seems compelling.

Studies carried out by the Institute of Optometrists and the Transport Research Laboratory at Crowthorne in Berkshire have shown that white and yellow are the most visible colours and that red and grey are the hardest to make out.

Similarly, research carried out for the Department of Postal Services in the United States found that 90 per cent of sensory information reaching the brain was of visual origin and that lighter colours were easier to pick up. It concluded that green was the most difficult colour to see. In Germany, drivers of red vehicles have even been advised to put on their headlights sooner than other motorists when light begins to fade.

One of the first people to become aware of the danger of red fire engines in Britain was Albert Leese, who was the chief fire officer in Coventry between 1960 and 1974. Mr Leese had noticed how invisible the appliances became under bright lighting and asked scientists from Coventry's Lanchester College to investigate.

Working with Dulux, the paint company, they concluded that the colour of optimum visibility was somewhere on the spectrum between lime green and yellow. Accordingly, Mr Leese ordered that the city of Coventry's fire engines were painted this colour. "It's not a pleasant colour," he admitted. "It's a colour that when you look at it, it gives you a bit of a shock."

But the colour change improved response times and cut the number of accidents involving fire appliances. Mr Leese wrote to the Home Office Fire Department, recommending that the colour change be taken up nationally.

"They wrote back and said, 'Fire engines have always been red', which was a very scientific answer," he said, adding that the engines had been painted red again after he stood down.