fire engine red
{{short description|Informal name for an intense, bright red}}
{{For|the song of the same name|The Grid{{!}}Fire Engine Red (song)}}
{{infobox color
| title = Fire engine red
| hex = CE2029
| isccname = Vivid red}}
Fire engine red, also known as fire truck red in North America, is an informal name for an bright red commonly used on emergency vehicles in many countries on fire service vehicles, such as fire engines. The name does not refer to any particular shade of red; different fire services may have their own specifications.{{cite web |url=http://www.johndennisfire.co.uk/faq |title=Frequently Asked Questions (about fire vehicles)|website=John Dennis Coachbuilders|access-date= 22 November 2016}} "The most popular shade of red is Post Office Red (BS381c538)" [http://www.e-paint.co.uk/Lab_values.asp?cRange=BS%20381C&cRef=BS381%20538&cDescription=Post%20office%20red%20/%20Cherry This is a cherry red, #9D383A] Bright red has long been used on fire vehicles.{{cite web |url=http://www.dennissociety.org.uk/preserved/fire/3312.html |title=Dennis Fire Engine – Trailer Pump of 1913|website=Dennis Society (concerning Dennis fire vehicles)|access-date= 22 November 2016}}
Background
Traditional fire departments in large U.S. central cities and major metropolitan areas use this color on fire engines, but many suburbs and smaller cities use the color lime or bright yellow for their fire engines because of its greater visibility at night. In the U.K. the fire service added the more visible Battenburg markings in fire-engine red and retro-reflective yellow, often on a predominantly red vehicle.[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/3221/pdfs/uksiem_20093221_en.pdf EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TO THE ROAD VEHICLES LIGHTING AND GOODS VEHICLE (PLATING AND TESTING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2009, UK Department of Transport]
Initial research into fire appliance visibility was conducted by the Lanchester College of Technology and the Fire Brigade in Coventry, in the UK in about 1965. It concluded that under the range of artificial street lighting in common use at the time, yellow better retained its conspicuity than red. Yellow was also more conspicuous in general road conditions in the daytime and during inclement weather. Research conducted by Stephen Solomon, a New York optometrist, promoted the use of "lime yellow" in the United States from the mid-1970s. Solomon conducted studies of the rate of vehicle accidents involving fire apparatus, concluding that the more conspicuously colored fire apparatus suffered a lower accident rate than the less conspicuous red used by the same fire department.{{cite journal| pmid=2081824 | volume=61 | issue=11 | title=Lime-yellow color as related to reduction of serious fire apparatus accidents—the case for visibility in emergency vehicle accident avoidance | year=1990 | journal=J Am Optom Assoc | pages=827–31 | author=Solomon SS}} {{Closed access}}{{cite journal |url=https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=415682 |title=Influence of Color on Fire Vehicle Accidents|journal= Journal of Safety Research|volume=26|issue=1|date= 1995|pages=41–48|author1=Solomon, S. S. |author2=King, J G |doi=10.1016/0022-4375(95)00001-1|url-access=subscription}}{{Closed access}}
Further research supporting the use of yellow for all emergency vehicles was published in 1978 in Australia.Green, David A. (1978). Emergency vehicle warning systems and identification. NSW Public Works Department. 24pp. {{ISBN|0724047956}}.
Gallery
ButteCountyCASupport42.jpg|American fire truck in Butte County, California.
Manchester Airport Fire Engine.jpg|Red fire appliance with half-Battenburg side markings at Manchester Airport, England
Taipei Taiwan Firefighting-truck-02.jpg|Firefighting trucks of Taipei City Fire Department, Taipei, Taiwan
2june 2007 538.jpg|Italian fire trucks
Pozhmashina KamAZ fire engines 2019, 03.jpg|Ukrainian fire engines
IFA W50L Saracay Piñas firetruck.jpg|Ecuadorean fire engine on parade
Gondar Airport 2018 (14).jpg|Ethiopian fire truck at Gondar Airport
See also
References
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