Last week's post here about various fire truck colors mentioned departments that have chosen hues other than the classic red (or red and white/black combinations). Some departments transitioned from other colors to red, and a few readers noted that some still have vehicles painted in older color schemes.
This is the first in a series of posts highlighting departments that either changed their color schemes or may have had units in the past with colors different from their current fleets.
**Division 1:**
Arlington Heights once acquired a white-over-lime-green Mack CF demonstration model.
Elk Grove Village also had a lime-green Mack CF engine.
Mount Prospect used to paint its entire fleet white over yellow, which included at least five engines and two mid-ship mounted aerials.
Palatine had a single white-over-lime-green Seagrave engine in its lineup.
Rolling Meadows operated two units in this color scheme, including a Pierce vehicle and a medium-duty squad with a PTO pump built by E-ONE on a GMC chassis.
For Wheeling, the lime-green-and-white color scheme was standard from the late 1960s, when Ward LaFrance introduced the trend, until the arrival of their 1994 Sutphen tower ladder. All their vehicles during this period shared this distinctive color palette.
Lastly, here’s an example of the "Palm Beach Gardens green" mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article.
These examples showcase how fire departments across the country experimented with different color schemes, reflecting both practical considerations and aesthetic preferences over time. Each department’s choices tell a story about their history and evolution in firefighting practices.