Brea and Fullerton fire department are getting a makeover for a bolder look

Soon, the Brea and Fullerton fire departments will sport a bolder look.

The Brea Fire Department unveiled its new logo and paint style on Tuesday, June 4, when it commissioned a new fire engine, which will be housed at Fire Station No. 3. The Fullerton Fire Department plans to follow in August when it will commission its newest engine.

The departments wanted a look that is more visible and also exceeds federal and state standards for being reflective, Division Chief Chris Nigg said. The two departments operate separately, but share a command staff.

The biggest change is happening for the Brea department.

For more than a decade, Brea had used a logo with oranges, oil wells and axes to reflect the city’s heritage. Now the logo will feature the city’s seal – which still includes many of those features – flanked by two American flags with an eagle sitting on top. The new logo also has a splash of gold paint.

“Since there were horse-drawn carriages, gold has been there” Nigg said of the color often used by fire departments.

The logo appears on the city’s newest, $600,000 fire engine, which has upgraded lighting, a better suspension, 360-degree camera views and a touch-screen monitoring system.

Brea has used more of an “orange-ish” red for its vehicles. But the department is transitioning to a “deeper” shade of red starting with the new rig, Nigg said. Any future vehicles bought by the department will be painted in that shade as well, he said.

The Fullerton Fire Department is also adding gold to its logo – a return to a more traditional, but bolder look, Nigg said.

And the command staff members have a new Maltese cross logo, along with new trucks replacing the Chevy Suburban SUVs they were using that will allow them to better tow heavy emergency trailers. Those red trucks are getting a splash of black paint, to distinguish the command staff from the two departments.

Nigg didn’t have the exact cost for the redesign, but said the departments anticipate spending $1,000 to $2,000 per vehicle to put on the new logos.

The new logos were designed by the departments’ own staff, Nigg said.

Brea Fire Engineer John Aguirre, who designed his department logo, said he used the centennial badge from 2017 as the base and then tied in more symbols of America.

“We thought we were just ready for a new logo,” he said.