Why are firetrucks red?

Question

I found all the firetrucks are red. Is there any explanation for this?

Answer 1

It's a tradition, but how that tradition began is something no one can explain.

Maybe the tradition of using red trucks as fire trucks came about as a way of distinguishing them and giving them a very eye-catching specification, which would help differentiate them from the everyday carriage trucks whose colors are mostly black as well as all other automobiles on the road. On the other hand, the reason for the choice of red as the official color for fire trucks could be traced to the belief in the early years that red from the iron oxide had a very high durability which was why it was often the choice color for outbuildings and barns. During that era, red was also the most easily produced color.

Whatever the reason could have been, the tradition began long ago, and stuck. In the middle of the 60s and in the early 70s, studies proved that the first colors to vanish in very low light conditions were red. Subsequently, several fire departments abroad and then the United States began to use colors like yellows and lime greens which all had very high visibility for all their fire trucks. Though this proved to be a very wise decision, but many diehard traditionalists hated and fought against the switch of fire truck colors from red to colors that had more visibility.

Today, red has managed to retain its place as the most popular and widely accepted color for fire trucks and most other types of emergency vehicles all over the world. But there are still other colors of fire trucks out there today. For instance, it is quite common to see fire trucks painted with colors like green, orange, blue, yellow, white and sometimes black.

Answer 2

The reason why fire trucks are red is because back in 1940, when there were still white, a New York man created a comic and placed a fire truck on its cover, but accidentally, he made it red and had already placed the comic in different stores, so it was already late to try and change them. The comics hit real fame and by 1943, every fire department in New York decided that the color of the fire trucks would be red and by 1948, every fire truck in the United States was painted red and the man who created the comic is worth $25 million today.

Answer 3

Have you ever come across this joke?
There is only one reason why fire trucks are red; it is because newspapers are red as well. Originally, newspapers cost 25 cents. 25 by 2 is about 12. There are 12 inches in one foot. A foot equals a ruler.  There was a ruler named Queen Elizabeth. There was also a ship named Queen Elizabeth. Ships are known to stay on the ocean. All fish have fins. Fins were used to fight the Russians. Russians are red in color and that is the only reason why fire trucks are always red. They are always in a hurry.

I have memorized this joke.

Answer 4

Why are firetrucks red? There was a story behind this.

Volunteer fire departments served most communities before firefighting ever became a paid profession. As at that time, red was still the most affordable color of paint considering the fact the firefighters who were mostly volunteers had no money to go for more expensive options. However, red was never the only color used as the paint for fire trucks. In those days, the apparatus of the Brooklyn Fire Department was painted with a two-tone green color to help differentiate them from the red apparatus used by the Metropolitan Fire Department. This was before the merger between the Brooklyn Fire Department and the force in Manhattan. Though red has remained the most commonly used color for fire trucks, a trend which can still be linked to age long traditions, however, other colors are still used for painting fire trucks.