• 17 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Fire Truck

A fire engine from the side, and its pump panel close up.

Parts of a Fire Truck

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Cab
  2. Light bar
  3. Siren
  4. Wheels
  5. Ground ladder
  6. Water tank
  7. Compartments
  8. Pump panel
  9. Hose bed
  10. Suction hose
  11. Rear step
  12. Front bumper
  13. Air horns
  14. Fire hose
  15. Nozzle
  16. Intake
  17. Discharge outlet

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry, a composite of no one maker or fire department. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

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All 17 parts on the diagram

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Cab and body 9

  1. Cab The crew sits inside. Everyone is seated and belted while the truck is moving.
  2. Light bar Flashing warning lights catch the eye of other drivers. They work as the truck comes near and when it is parked on the road.
  3. Siren Gives warning sounds, along with the air horns. On the way to a call, the flashing lights go together with the sounds.
  4. Wheels Many fire engines are built on a truck chassis. It is made stronger for the job.
  5. Ground ladder A ladder firefighters lift off the truck and stand on the ground. Nearly all fire engines carry ladders.
  6. Compartments They hold the tools and equipment. What goes in them depends on the jobs the fire department does.
  7. Rear step Also called the tailboard. Nobody rides on it while the truck is moving.
  8. Front bumper The front bumper. On some trucks it has a compartment for hose.
  9. Air horns Very loud horns worked by air. They are used with the siren to warn traffic.

Water and hoses 8

  1. Water tank A tank inside the body. It gives the crew a limited supply of water carried on the truck.
  2. Pump panel The controls and gauges for the pump. The pump operator works here to send water to the hoses.
  3. Hose bed Long lengths of hose lie folded here. They are ready to be pulled off the back of the truck.
  4. Suction hose Also called hard suction hose. It joins the pump's intake to a supply of water.
  5. Fire hose A hose line kept folded in its tray. Some, called preconnects, stay joined to the truck's water so they are ready to pull.
  6. Nozzle It shapes the water into a straight stream or a spray.
  7. Intake Water comes into the pump here. It comes from a hydrant or through the suction hose.
  8. Discharge outlet Water leaves the pump here, into a hose.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only when two sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, Fire engine, text only (emergency lights as beacons or lightbars, sirens and air horns, ladders and ground ladders, fire hose, preconnected hose lines, water tank and onboard water supply, pump, hard suction hose and intake, tools and equipment, truck chassis). (2) US Fire Administration, Emergency Vehicle Safety Initiative, FA-336 (2014), https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_336.pdf, and Safe Operation of Fire Tankers, FA-248, https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-248.pdf (cab, warning light bar, siren, air horn, pump panel, compartments, water tank, rear step and tailboard, bumper, ground ladders, intake connection, hard intake hose, spray nozzles). (3) A fire apparatus maker's pumper operation and maintenance manual, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6004984 (cab, pump panel, gauges, intake, discharge, hose beds and cross-lay trays, water tank, compartments, rear steps, bumper compartments, nozzle). (4) United States Navy Structural Fire-Fighting Manual (1953, a US government work), full text at https://archive.org/details/StructuralFireFightingManual (pumper, hose bed, hard suction hose, discharge, nozzles, extension ladders). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry, a composite of no one maker or fire department. Licence: own work

How it works

A fire truck carries firefighters, water, hose, ladders and tools to a fire. This one is a pumper, the standard fire engine. The drawing names its parts from the side, then shows the pump panel larger.

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Two drawings

Row 1 is the whole truck from the side, cab to the left. Numbers 1 to 8 are the parts to learn first. Row 2 is the pump panel, the board just behind the cab, drawn larger: the folded hose and its nozzle, the intake where water comes in and the discharge outlets where it goes out.

Follow the water

Water is carried in the water tank (6) or comes in through the intake (16). The pump sends it out of a discharge outlet (17) and along a fire hose (14) to the nozzle (15).

  • This truck is a pumper. A ladder truck is a different fire truck, with one long ladder on a turntable.
  • The rear step has a second name, the tailboard.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a fire truck called?

The front is the cab, with a light bar, a siren and air horns. Behind it is the pump panel. The body holds the water tank and tool compartments, with a ground ladder and suction hose on the side and the hose bed on top.

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

Often nothing. Fire truck is the usual name in North America, and fire engine in Britain and Ireland. Some fire departments do use the two names for two different kinds of vehicle.

What does the pump panel on a fire truck do?

It holds the controls and gauges for the pump. Water comes in through the intake, and the pump sends it out through the discharge outlets into the hoses. The pump operator stands at the panel.

What is the hose bed on a fire truck?

The hose bed is the open space on top of the body. Long lengths of fire hose lie folded in it, so that they can be pulled off the back of the truck.

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