Fire trucks can come in any colour you like—in Whistler it’s black

Newer trucks delivered to the Whistler Fire Rescue Service (WFRS) are black and red—but why?

That question was posed to WFRS at the Feb. 6 council meeting, when councillors were asked to sign off on two new rescue pumper trucks for more than $2.5 million, adding to an existing order.

Councillor Jen Ford wanted to know why black was the colour of choice, when in other parts of the province, fire trucks are yellow or red.

“A lot of the newer versions of the fire trucks that are being built are shifting to a black and red scheme, there’s quite a few like that,” said the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW)’s central services supervisor, Paul Klein.

“We can negotiate a colour with the proponent probably at a cost—but that would be driven by [WFRS], and I would follow their direction.”

Deputy fire chief, Mitch Hunter, explained the colour scheme is far from set, but industry standards are shifting.

“Back in the day when I started here, our trucks were a lime-green colour with white on top,” he said, explaining it then shifted to red and white, before moving on to the red and black of today.

“Black is actually becoming the industry standard out here—it is proven to be high visibility,” he said.

“It actually shows up better at night when you’re on the highway, so it’s kind of a safety perspective of why people are going to the black trucks. It sounds weird, but a black truck  shows up way better at night with the lights and out on the highway.”

The company contracted by the RMOW to build its three new incoming trucks delivers units around the continent, and while the lion’s share of deliveries going back to 2015 appear to be red and black, there is no industry standard: some of the recent deliveries for the company are to Telkwa (red and white), Fort MacLeod (red), Ermineskin Cree Nation (mostly white), Kimberley (red and black), Bouchie Lake (yellow) and Hogansburg Akwesasne (black and yellow).

Black is the colour for Whistler, however.

A communications official for the RMOW explained to Pique that “black is the new red … The reality is that fire trucks can be ordered in any colour, but safety plays a key role for us in the decision.

“In the past there were studies done that said bright colours were better, which is why in Whistler we used to have fire trucks that were lime green. Later, based on new information, the industry shifted toward red. Black has since proven to stand out better during the daylight hours on scene, while reflective striping throughout the body and emergency lights help the truck stand out better at night.”

Whistler shifted to a black scheme in 2017 when WFRS took delivery of a new truck that year—and the pattern is set to continue with deliveries going forward. The next delivery is expected later this year.