Fire Engines Photos

These are very common among German fire services, as many communities are of course built on the banks of rivers. For some reason they are comparatively rare in the USA, although rescue squad trucks are ubiquitous, and many carry water rescue and/or diving gear and have a small boat on board too. In Chicago we have one dedicated dive rescue truck and the divers also have easy access to the fireboats, as their base station is very near the harbor. All seven rescue rigs have a small boat and we also have a rescue helicopter which is dispatched to water rescue incidents.

In addition our river police units also respond and are sometimes on site more quickly so they can effectuate some water rescues without CFD help.

Added by Rob Johnson on 17 April 2026.

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