ROANOKE, Va. – Don’t worry, the firetrucks and ambulances in Roanoke will still be red. But say goodbye to the white trim. It’s set to be replaced by dark gray reflective trim and lettering.
It may sound subtle, but a survey of the staff indicated that there is a newer, cooler look for emergency vehicles, and this is it.
Roanoke is rolling out six new ambulances in mid-April, and all of them will have the new colors.
Not only was it important to the team, but the chief believes it will resonate with new recruits.
“We have a committee from our staff that said, Chief, let’s look at things a little differently. We’re trying to re-image or re-imagine our organization so that we can be more attractive to people that want to come to work for us. And so we put a committee together and say, OK, is there white over red still we want to stay with? And overwhelmingly, they said no. So, the new trucks will come in gray over red. And we feel that’s a richer look to our fleet,” Roanoke Fire-EMS Chief David Hoback said.
Hoback said the department is replacing a haz-mat truck that has been in service for 32 years. He said the new truck will feature the gray over red colors as well.