Why Is a Fire Truck Red?

When people describe a very pure, bold shade of red, they often say that it is “fire engine red”. When one mentions a fire truck, the image one conjures up is of a bright red vehicle. So the answer to the question “Why is a fire truck red” seems obvious and self-evident, “Because they are red!”

However, the question “why is a fire truck red” is still a good one. Often we insist that things are a certain way “because that is the way they are.” However, fire trucks are not an organic thing, and, at some point in the past, someone decided that fire trucks should be red. One answer to the question of “Why is a fire truck red?” is that red is a color that attracts attention. People will see a red fire truck and immediately get out of the way, knowing that the firefighters are on their way to battle with flames. However, is this really the case? There have been some accidents involving fire trucks at night, and some have decided that bright red vehicles might actually be a safety hazard because they do not show up very well in the dark. While it is true that a fire engine’s lights and sirens go off when it is being driven to the site of a fire, it might be difficult to see a fire truck in the dark in non-emergency situations.

Because of these concerns, some have proposed that the color of fire trucks should be changed to a lime or yellow color that will glow in the dark. But it is hard to imagine a lime or yellow fire truck. Could you imagine giving your child who is expecting a bright red fire truck as a toy a florescent yellow vehicle? A child may ask “Why is a fire truck red,” but the same child will be disappointed if he receives a fire truck in another color.

The fact that we associate fire trucks with the color red shows the power of traditions on our consciousness. The redness of a fire truck seems as native to its properties as the fact that it has a hose, a ladder and a bell. And even if there are better colors for fire trucks, the fact that fire trucks are red is not something that is going to change any time soon.