Difference between truck and Engine Chicago Fire

Q: Whats the difference between truck and squad Chicago Fire?

In this context Truck” refers to the firefighters who ride the Fire Truck and carry the tools and equipment to handle fires. Squad, however, is the team thats called during emergencies and accidents. They are the firefighters who have the equipment to handle any situation — not just fires.

Chicago Fire uses a lot of authentic firefighter lingo when telling the stories of Firehouse 51. And sometimes, it can get quite confusing. The firehouse is home to Engine Company 51, Truck Company 81, Rescue Squad Company 3, Battalion 25, and Ambulance 61 — and that’s more than enough to try to get straight.

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Squad and Truck — what’s the difference?
This divide has caused tension on ‘Chicago Fire’
What is the difference between a fire engine and a fire truck?
What's the difference between truck and squad Chicago Fire?
What are the trucks on Chicago Fire?
What does engine do in Chicago Fire?

In recent episodes, they’ve added yet another layer via talk about joining the “Squad,” without any definition or explanation. What is the Squad? And, what’s the difference between Squad and Truck?

Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide, Joe Minoso as Joe Cruz on ‘Chicago Fire’ | Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

When it comes to defining a “Fire Truck,” it really could be almost any vehicle that the fire department uses, according to Fairmont Fire. But the term has “become specialized” over the years. Originally, a “Fire Engine” was an exclusive reference to the water pump.

But now, a “Fire Engine” refers to a fire department vehicle that pumps water. As for the term “Fire Truck,” that’s reserved for other types of vehicles that carry equipment and have at least one ladder.

The Truck and the Engine perform different functions at the scene of a fire, and they don’t look alike. Fire engines — like Engine 51 on Chicago Fire — have the hoses and water. While the Fire Trucks like Truck 81 carry the tools — things like ladders, personnel, and rescue equipment.

Squad and Truck — what’s the difference?

In the Chicago Fire episode “Halfway to the Moon,” Gallo (Alberto Rosende) expressed his desire to join the “Squad,” and the word was used multiple times. However, no one ever explained exactly what it meant.

Just like there are two different vehicles — Trucks and Engines — firefighting teams are broken up into two different camps when they are working to put out a fire. In this context “Truck” refers to the firefighters who ride the Fire Truck and carry the tools and equipment to handle fires.

Squad, however, is the team that’s called during emergencies and accidents. They are the firefighters who have the equipment to handle any situation — not just fires. The Squad is the “catch all” department, with responsibilities ranging from rescues to messy cleanups.

To confuse fans even more, there’s also Rescue Squad Company 3. They specialize in rescue operations during complicated missions and difficult to reach areas.

This divide has caused tension on ‘Chicago Fire’

With “Truck” and “Squad” being different teams, they also have different reputations. The “regular” team of firefighters is “Truck,” led by Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). While the cool kids — aka the best of the best — are “Squad,” led by Severide (Taylor Kinney).

Having two different teams — and one having the reputation of being the best — there’s been tension between Kidd and Severide. She doesn’t like that he uses “Truck” as his talent pool or farm system to poach the top talent. But Severide believes he’s helping the ambitious firefighters who want to move up.

No matter who’s right, it seems pretty clear that this drama between “Truck” and “Squad” won’t be going away anytime soon.

The Chicago Fire season 10 finale airs Wednesday, May 25 on NBC.

RELATED: ‘Chicago Fire’ Season 10: Is Kelly Severide Leaving After the Finale?

In short: Engine puts the wet stuff on the hot stuff, Truck does searches, rescues, all the primary ladder work, and structural work (like overhaul), Rescue specializes in complicated rescues with specific apparatuses. According to the husband of a childhood friend who works for the CFD, most newbies start on Engine as there are more Engines than anything else (96 companies in the CFD), some shift to Truck if they show a talent for/interest in ladder work or searches (there are 49 Truck companies, 10 Tower ladders and 2 Aerial towers in the CFD), and only a few who go through substantial amounts of extra training get to work Rescue (and there's a list of cert'ed guys waiting for an open spot, there are only 4 "Squads" in the CFD iirc, so 12 shifts of 3-4 guys = about 40-50 guys in the whole CFD). There is also a Fireboat (literally, just the one), half a dozen types of HazMat teams, plus teams that specialize in Collapse rescue, Tunnel rescue, and I think a couple foam engines (for chemical fires in which water is not the appropriate suppression). But in general, most firefighters are Truckies or Engines ("hose jockeys").

Engine's focus is on getting water to the fire area. They do the actual fire suppression in most instances (small fires may be put out by extinguishers on Truck or Rescue, but large fires call out Engine companies).

Truck's focus is on doing initial search and clearing a building, assessing the fire and structure, and venting the building for victim/firefighter safety. They also do a lot of getting people out of car crashes, elevators, and other "person stuck in machine" situations. Truck also usually does overhaul, which is pulling walls and ceilings down, etc., to make sure that the fire is actually out. According to Mike (above cited friend), Truckies specialize in breaking stuff: they use axes, halligans, and sledges to get people out at great (fun) cost to the structure.

Squad does complicated rescues of all sorts. The fact that a city the size of Chicago has four working Squads tells you that these are not the common incidents. They roam much farther from "home" though - so Squad 3 would be responsible for a much larger section of the city than would Truck 81, who in turn has a larger area than Engine 51, who probably is about on par with Ambulance 61.

Also, in Chicago, it is not at all unusual for a medical emergency to have a fire truck respond: the ambulances are very busy (more than the fire apparatuses) and the substantial majority of Truck (and often Engine) guys are EMT certified, some are even certified paramedics.

What is the difference between a fire engine and a fire truck?

Fire engines are used for putting out fires while fire trucks are for victim rescue, roof ventilation, and controlling the fire should it grow larger. Fire engines include equipment like hoses, pumps and water tanks (which is why they're sometimes called pumpers)

What's the difference between truck and squad Chicago Fire?

In this context “Truck” refers to the firefighters who ride the Fire Truck and carry the tools and equipment to handle fires. Squad, however, is the team that's called during emergencies and accidents. They are the firefighters who have the equipment to handle any situation — not just fires.

What are the trucks on Chicago Fire?

Command Personnel Truck Company 81 (commonly called Truck 81) is the secondary apparatus assigned to Firehouse 51. The original rig was a 1996 Seagrave Marauder equipped with a 100' rear-mount ladder, space for other equipment and seating for up to eight firefighters. The truck is staffed by 4-5 firefighters.

What does engine do in Chicago Fire?

Engine Company 51 (commonly called Engine 51) is the primary firefighting apparatus assigned to Firehouse 51. It is a pumper and carries water and a compliment of hoses and other equipment used in fire suppression.