Chicago Fire: Difference Between Engine, Truck, And Squad Explained
If you don’t quite understand the difference between Engine, Truck, and Squad after watching Chicago Fire for a dozen years, worry not: here’s a simple explanation.
Summary:
- Engine is responsible for extinguishing and suppressing fires with water.
- Truck carries the aerial ladder and saves people from burning buildings.
- Squad specializes in complex rescues and uses special equipment for all possible scenarios.
We’ll be the first to admit that even after years of watching Chicago Fire, we were not exactly sure we knew the difference between the Engine, Truck, and Squad teams. If you’re anything like us, don’t worry — we’re one and the same. Today is when the confusion ends as we’ve found an easy way to tell these teams from one another.
Engine: The Water Folks Who Extinguish Fires
The Engine team are your typical firefighters, and they drive the most classic vehicles which are referred to as “fire engines,” hence the name. Engine is responsible for suppressing and putting out fires as their vehicles carry immense water supplies and powerful hoses. Truck and Squad can do that, too, but only with smaller fires since their vehicles don’t have the equipment and capacity to deal with large areas.
Herrmann, Doherty, Norwood, Kaufman, Jesse, and Ritter belong to Engine 51 in Chicago Fire.
Truck: The Ladder Folks Who Save People
The Truck team operates the second most common type of firefighter vehicles: the ladder trucks which can be recognized by the aerial ladder on top. While Truck also has smaller water hoses, its primary goal is search and rescue, and its people are trained for forcible entries, ventilation, and much more. When you see the pictures of firefighters pulling people out of fires in the media, it’s usually the folks from Truck.
Kidd, Mouch, and Carver belong to Truck 81 in Chicago Fire. Casey, Herrmann, Gallo, Cruz, Dawson, and many others used to be part of the Truck team in the past.
Squad: The Veteran Folks Who Do Complex Rescues
The Rescue Squad team drive the Special Operations Truck which is the most unique: unlike others, it specializes in equipment and lacks the water capacity almost entirely. That’s because Squad is responsible for complex rescues which often require specific apparatuses. A Squad team typically consists of veterans who save people from collapses, tunnels, water, and other highly specific scenarios.
Severide, Ferraris, Capp, and Cruz belong to Squad 3 in Chicago Fire.
