Hillsborough County Fire Rescue’s (HCFR) newest fire engine hit the streets of Brandon this month, and it is impossible to miss. The new engine, named ‘CHAMPABAY’s Fire Truck,’ has been professionally wrapped with sleek championship logos from the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays.
The new engine will serve the residents of Hillsborough County from Station 9 in Brandon, one of the busiest stations in the county.
Beaming with pride over the successes of Tampa Bay’s professional sports teams, HCFR’s CHAMPABAY’s Fire Truck was specially designed to recognize the accomplishments of the Bay area’s professional sports champions while retaining the reflective colors and other visual safety features of a traditional fire truck.
The full length of the passenger’s side of CHAMPABAY’s Fire Truck is dedicated to the Lightning. The full driver’s side honors the Buccaneers, while the front and back of the truck celebrates the Rays. The new truck was professionally wrapped by FASTSIGNS Brandon and partially funded by HCFR partner Ten-8 Fire and Safety and Pierce Manufacturing. The wrap cost HCFR less than $7,000, while the majority of the cost was carried by the partners.
“We are very proud of the teams that represent our community,” said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Fire Chief Dennis Jones. “And we know these teams also support the community in many ways, just as the first responders do, so we felt it was a natural connection.”
CHAMPABAY’s Fire Truck is expected to be one of the most photographed fire engines in the nation. HCFR leadership hopes that the truck is a point of pride and morale boost for the more than 1,200 firefighters, paramedics and other members who have worked so hard for the past 18 months providing lifesaving services to the residents of Hillsborough County.
“We mainly just want to recognize the great spirit of this community,” said Jones. “We’ve had some great success with our pro teams, and we just want to call that out with this brand-new fire truck.”
To learn more about Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org.
