Coventry Fire Brigade (inc. Hales Street Fire Station)

Someone asked me the other day if I remembered the yellow fire engines that were in use in Coventry in (I think) the 1970's. I seem to recall they were very successful, particularly in being seen at night (whereas red is probably one of the worst colours to be seen in the dark) Even though they were a success, I recall them being dropped and replaced with the old red ones. Was this a "trial" period? Can anyone add anything to this info?

The Yellow fire engines were very popular, but when the coventry fire service was combined with the west midlands the yellow engines were dropped, and we used the standard colour.

If my memory is correct, I believe Coventry F.S. were experimenting with different colours because of the new lights on the ring road. I can recall pink being one of the colours used. Does anybody else remember the pink.

I`m sure there is a picture, on a previous post, of a row of fire engines outside the fire station and it included a pink one but I can`t find the topic.

The colours "City of Coventry Fire Brigade Yellow" and "City of Coventry Fire Brigade Red" were, I believe invented by Lanchester College in the 70s in conjunction with Dulux.

I bet they were all fighting to drive the pink one!

O...M...G! A Barbie fire engine!!

I wonder if there is anyone on this site, who has relations that were in the fire brigade and served at the old fire station in Hales St when it was open.

Good Morning Sandylane, It is going back a few years but my father in law was in the fire brigade during the war years - Robert Shepherd. No doubt if he was still alive he would have had a few good tales to tell.

Is it true that the houses in Chauntry Place were once firemen's houses??

A Coventry man, Phil Consadine, wrote a book about the Coventry fire brigade. I think it was called Incident Closed.

See this : Biblio.co.uk

Cheers Cliff. I did have the book, but I have misplaced it. I think I have loaned it out, but cannot remember to who.

I went to school with a girl who lived in Chauntry Place and her father was a fireman, so it's probably true.

Just to say that the pole that the firemen had to go down was taken down and put in the bar in that place now for us to sit and put our feet on it as a footrest around the bar, sad I think??? And yes I think the firemen did live in the houses over the road as my mum had to clean there and she told me.