Fire command vehicle

{{Short description|Automobile used to transport fire officials to emergency scenes}}

{{More citations needed|date=June 2020}}

File:Peter Stehlik - FDNY Battalion Chief 1 - 2012.05.28.jpg fire command vehicle used by the New York City Fire Department]]

A fire command vehicle, also called a fire chief car, battalion chief vehicle, or fly car, is a vehicle used by a senior officer of a fire department to respond to firefighting incidents.{{cite book|author=Thomas Ryder|title=The Carriage Journal: Vol 24 No 4 Spring 1987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oyk-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA199|date=1 April 1987|publisher=Carriage Assoc. of America|pages=199–|id=GGKEY:NYJ9EPN3WZF}}{{cite book|author=Avis A. Townsend|title=Albion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qukhwytCcEAC&pg=PT35|date=30 November 2005|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-1652-9|pages=35–}}{{cite book|author=Jonathan V. Levin|title=Where Have All the Horses Gone?: How Advancing Technology Swept American Horses from the Road, the Farm, the Range and the Battlefield|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8qAuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101|date=4 October 2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-6713-3|pages=101–}}{{cite book|author1=Frank E. Wrenick|author2=Elaine V. Wrenick|title=Automobile Manufacturers of Cleveland and Ohio, 1864-1942|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3j84DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA145|date=23 August 2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-7535-3|pages=145–}}{{cite book|author1=National Fire Data Center|author2=Federal Emergency Management Agency|author3=U. S. Fire Administration|title=Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2xyOukk8AYC&pg=SL1-PA38|date=14 March 2013|publisher=FEMA|pages=1–|id=GGKEY:ZHXWBS5S3KW}} Its markings typically indicate the rank of the senior officer.{{cite book|author1=David Traiforos|author2=Arn Nowicki|title=Detroit Fire Department|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FpVCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT30|date=25 January 2016|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-5547-4|pages=30–}}

In the 19th century, fire chief vehicles were horse-drawn, and known as a chief's buggy.{{cite book|author=Randy W. Baumgardner|title=Oakland Fire Department: 1869-2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugnwAvtlJ4YC&pg=PA20|date=February 2005|publisher=Turner Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-56311-928-6|pages=20–}}{{cite book|author=Walter Mahan Jackson|title=The Story of Selma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EK5s2YtIJLAC&pg=PA454|year=1954|publisher=Superintendent of Schools (The Birmingham printing Company)|pages=454–}} With the advent and rise of the automobile, most fire departments retired their chief's buggies for automobiles with proper markings.{{cite book|author=Hearst Magazines|title=Popular Mechanics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yt4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA755|date=July 1907|publisher=Hearst Magazines|pages=755–|issn=00324558}}{{cite book|author=Geoffrey Hunter|title=Oakland Fire Department|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0WPyrvBDAcC&pg=PA29|year=2005|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-2968-4|pages=29–}}{{cite book|author1=Fred Thirkell|author2=Bob Scullion|title=Postcards from the Past: Edwardian Images of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley|url=https://archive.org/details/postcardsfrompas0000thir|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Heritage House Publishing Co|isbn=978-1-895811-23-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/postcardsfrompas0000thir/page/39 39]–}}File:Puch G-Class - Dobrovoljno Vatrogasno Društvo Bakar.jpg fire command vehicle]]In the United States, fire command vehicles are similar to police cars, and are equipped with emergency lighting and emergency vehicle equipment.{{cite book|author=New York (State). Legislature|title=Legislative Document|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx5LAAAAMAAJ|year=1957|publisher=J.B. Lyon Company}} Many fire departments use modified SUVs or pickup trucks as their command vehicles.{{cite book|title=Fire Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJMiAQAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Technical Pub.}}

In the United Kingdom, the fire car is usually unmarked and personally owned by a station manager. The car has emergency lighting and equipment installed.