The previous pink engine, last seen six years ago, wasn’t in service, which allowed community members to write personal messages on it. This year’s pink firefighter unit is fully operational, so the department did not permit any public signing. Even without the personalized remarks. Fullerton locals have shown strong support, stopping to take photos, pose with the pink responder, and share positive posts online throughout October.
Fullerton residents who noticed the bright pink fire engine on the streets in October will continue seeing it into November and possibly December.
Fullerton Fire Department’s Engine 1 was wrapped for Breast Cancer Awareness Month as part of the agency’s Pinktober campaign, which raises cancer awareness and supports Providence St. Jude Medical Center’s Crosson Cancer Institute.
Anyone in Fullerton who noticed the pink fire engine last month will continue to see it around November and possibly into December. The Fullerton Fire Department’s Engine 1, wrapped in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, will remain in service for about a month or two, according to Battalion Chief Ismael Maturino.
“This is the first time we’ve wrapped a fire engine that’s in daily service responding to calls,” said J.J. Ebbert, President of Fullerton Firefighter Association, Local 3421.
In previous years, only a reserve engine that was no longer used for emergency response was wrapped.
The pink engine marks the return of the department’s annual Pinktober, which raises cancer awareness and funds for the St. Jude Memorial Foundation supporting Providence St. Jude Medical Center’s Crosson Cancer Institute. While the department has participated in Pinktober for roughly a decade, this is the first pink engine seen in the community since 2019, after the pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nationally, cancer is now the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths among career firefighters, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. In California, research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shows elevated cancer diagnoses and deaths among firefighters compared to the general population.
For Fullerton’s fire crews, the issue hits close to home; several firefighters have received cancer screenings and treatment at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. The collaboration with St. Jude underscores a broader reality in the fire service: toxic chemicals released during modern fires expose firefighters to carcinogenic fumes and particles that can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
The pink wrap was fully funded by the Ebell Club of Fullerton, a local women’s service organization founded in 1917 and affiliated with both the California and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.
The installation was completed by Sign Pros in Brea, the same company that wrapped the department’s older out-of-service engine in 2019. Transforming Engine 1 took three full days, resulting in a bright, polished finish that makes the frontline engine look newly refurbished.
In addition to the engine wrap, firefighters organized several community events. Including a golf tournament, merchandise sale, like T-shirts, and a “Fill the Boot” fundraiser using retired pink firefighter boots, to raise money for St. Jude throughout October.
Fullerton FD did not allow the public to sign the pink fire engine. The fire truck is actively responding to service calls in the field. The previous pink engine from six years ago was not in service and people were allowed to write personal messages. Fullerton residents have shown strong support for the pink engine, taking photos and sharing positive posts online.
“We don’t see it going away,” said Ebbert. “The pink engine is back, and the community really embraces it.”
