Why Yellow?

Tipton Volunteer Fire Department 407 Lynn St. Tipton, IA 52772

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Why are the fire trucks Yellow?

It all started in the 1960’s when an optometrist and volunteer firefighter by the name of Stephen S. Solomon conducted studies that proved that the color lime-yellow (sometimes referred to as Safety Yellow) was much more visible that red. Throughout his research which spanned from 1959 to roughly 1988, Dr. Solomon concluded that yellow and greenish-yellow are colors the eye is most sensitive to. He also found that human vision does not see the color red when adapted to the dark and that the lateral peripheral vision for detecting yellow is 1.24 times greater that for red.

“The frequency of lime-yellow fire truck intersection accidents is half that of red fire trucks”

Even though no NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standard was put in place concerning the color of fire apparatus during this time, fire departments of every size switched to the yellow or lime-yellow color. However, the changed wasn’t well received by the general public nor the department’s themselves. Cities like Iowa City and Cedar Rapids switched to yellow only to change back to red later. Even the Fire Department of New York flirted with

yellow trucks for two years from 1982 to 1984. FDNY had 11 yellow trucks but found them to be 58% more accident prone than the red and ultimately painted them back. Yellow fire trucks are still widely accepted for airport fire departments.

The fire service possesses deep roots of tradition which are hard to ignore. Even though yellow trucks are more visible and thus, safer while responding to calls, the majority of fire apparatus around the nation are still painted red. However, the Tipton Fire Department stands out from the majority with their uniquely lime-yellow fire trucks.

References:
NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus (2003).
City’s Yellow Fire Trucks Faulted, The New York Times, June 23rd, 1984.
TranSafety, Inc., www.usroads.com, 1997.
Michael Martinelli Photography, www.FDNYtrucks.com.

Tipton's first yellow fire truck was this engine which was replaced by the current 186.