Fire Engine or Fire Truck?
fire truck
You hear them used interchangeably all the time: fire truck and fire engine. This is one Dinner Topic my kids taught me. After a trip to the fire station, I learned that there are specific differences between a fire truck and a fire engine and that they are completely separate vehicles.
A fire truck is the one with the long ladder (usually hydraulic) on top and is used to access the building or home, complete with all the necessary tools to get into difficult spaces.
fire engine
A fire engine, on the other hand, is the vehicle housing all of the water, hoses, and necessary pumps to get the water to the source of the fire. Ladders can be found on a fire engine, but only the portable kind.
quint
Just in case that was too “cut and dry,” they are now producing vehicles called “quints” which serve as both a fire engine AND a fire truck. Why “quint?” It “refers to the five functions that a quint provides: pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device, and ground ladders.”1
Trivia: the water tank on a fire engine can house upwards of 1,000 gallons of water and, thanks to a pumping system, can also draw from nearby water sources if necessary.2
It’s not the most topical subject of the day, but at least the next time you safely pull to the side of the road when you hear sirens, you’ll have something to tell your children.
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Read on:
PortlandOnline.com – Fire Trivia: Difference Between Fire Trucks and Fire Engines
FosterCity.org – FAQ – Fire Apparatus
HappyMedic.com – Is that a fire engine or a fire truck?
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