What’s Visible and Safe? It’s Fire Engine Red!
Color, or paint, is necessary on fire apparatus to meet functional needs, such as protection from the elements and decorative significance, which relates to a concept of identification and striking visibility.
I am not especially concerned with the almost unlimited variety of colors used on fire department vehicles for local tradition or distinction. However, I am in serious disagreement with the advancement of any theory that would foster the impression that lime-yellow is the only safety color and that red is next to invisible, creating a blind spot in the eye.
I am well aware of color blindness which affects five or six out of every thousand people. The most common is red-green color blindness. This, however, is not serious enough to create any substantial problems with traffic lights.
Any acceptance of lime-yellow, usually called “chartreuse” in the decorating trade, is based on the theoretical thesis that it has better visibility and is safer than red as a color for fire apparatus. Fire officials have discounted their own good judgment and subscribed to the arguments for lime-yellow, without any recourse to personal research or advice from other color authorities. One chief, mislead by the contrast and better visibility of the yellow stripes on the black turnout coats of his fire fighters, ordered lime-yellow apparatus.
Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Lime-yellow engines can melt into most backgrounds almost unnoticed. There is a wide gap of lacking evidence, if comparative tests were made, to evaluate all the color visibility and safety angles specifically for fire apparatus.
There are many other emergency vehicles not included in this promotion. Why fire apparatus? Police cars are more vulnerable, cruising continuously day and night, and with more frequent emergency calls. They are used as a barrier, broadside across streets and high-speed highways, near fire scenes. Yet they have never sacrificed the dignity of traditional police car colors for a pale lime-yellow even though police, especially the traffic division people, are most concerned with safety.
Vibrant pink
Probably one of the most contrasting and conspicuous colors under all conditions would be the deep vibrant pink used on the big balloon-shaped fishing buoys of the Gloucester fishing fleet. Nevertheless, a color should express dignity as an integral function requirement. Red meets this requirement as the most practical color for fire service vehicles.
It is true that a light meter gives a much higher reading on lime-yellow than red, but this in no way compensates for the brilliant hue and contrast of red against most urban and rural backgrounds that absorb lime-yellow by day. The color scheme of apparatus by night is dwarfed by the overpowering value of lights and reflective devices, including highly polished metal trim.
Some factory reds are too dark, and they reflect no more light than black. A standard bright fire department red should be adopted. The effectiveness of the Los Angeles County red has the full Hollywood impact against all possible backgrounds, as seen in the TV series, “Emergency.”
The psychological value of red has no parallel as an attractive force suggesting danger. This exciting color is highly visible against all backgrounds since its use in full strength is very limited. It is never used on city structures, and in rural areas, it can be seen in a large area only on maple trees in October. Therefore, bright red is always a dominant contrasting factor. It is sharply defined in small areas, on hunting caps, ski jackets or children’s snow suits.
Red becomes a major visual force when used on a large vehicle like a fire apparatus. Red is the most dominant color in the rainbow. It has always commanded attention and authority. The uniform coats of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police fulfill the ultimate in the supremacy of red.
Red for warning system
All signal and warning systems use red as the most restrictive color. The Red Cross has been a welcome sight in wars and disasters. Red has the same forceful appeal for children and primitive people, as it has when used on the most sophisticated stained glass and vestments in a cathedral. Even the word “cardinal” suggests the power of this color.
The Coast Guard has used red on lightships, buoys and hurricane warning flags. On railroads, red means stop.
Since red spells danger and attention more emphatically than any other color it follows that it becomes the most recognizable color for visibility and safety.
These examples are only a few ol the uses of red for singularly individual color importance. It would be hard to envision lime-yellow in any of these areas.
However, if the determining selection is based on visibility and safety, then the psychological color best suited for the fire service is FIRE ENGINE RED! Anything else could be heresy!
The author is a trained color specialist. He graduated from Pratt Institute Art School and New York University, where he received an M.A. degree as an art major. His career was teaching art, on a high school and college level, in the practical areas of color theory, advertising design and interior decorating. With a lifetime interest in the fire service, he has been recognized as an honorary battalion chief in Troy, N. Y., and as a deputy fire coordinator and vice chairman of the Fire Advisory Board in Rensselaer County, N. Y.
