Crime & Safety
Two Years in the Making — New Logo for Fire Department
El Cerrito's fire department has replaced its 25-year-old logo with a new emblem designed by firefighters and chosen by the entire staff.
After two years of coming up with possible designs to revamp 's logo, the department has chosen a winner.
The logo retains the city’s seal, which shows a view of El Cerrito from atop the hill, but is now framed by two crossed axes and a black and grey Maltese cross. Together, they are meant to denote the aggressive yet protective nature of being a firefighter.
“In a traditional sense, the logo is an expression of the men and women who serve the city,” said El Cerrito Fire Chief Lance Maples.
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Maples said the members of the fire department had been expressing a desire to refresh the 25-year-old logo for some time.
Consequently, the department formed a committee of eight staff members, with two representatives from each rank — captains, engineers and firefighters. Over the last two years members of the committee have designed 10 prototypes of a logo.
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Once the committee narrowed it down to three choices, the full department voted.
“The designs were all hand-drawn by one firefighter, and another firefighter took the selected drawing and put it in a Photoshop program,” said Maples.
From idea to final design, Maples is proud to say, the new logo was a hands-on and internal effort.
“In these economic times we try to do it in-house,” said Maples, noting that the total cost of production for patches and decals with the new logo will only come to $720. The money will be taken from the department’s equipment and uniform fund.
Maples added, “The process has given the staff a high sense of pride.”
The new logo will appear on the department's letterhead, uniform patches and fire engines and trucks.
The department is shopping for vendors to produce the new decals, but no time frame has been set for when all the fire trucks will be sporting the logo. It could take as long as 12 months, Maples said.
City Manager Scott Hanin revealed the new emblem in a memo to the City Council earlier this month, saying, "It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Department has completed one of our goals of redesigning the Department’s logo." (The old logo can be seen in one of the accompanying photos, along with the Albany fire department logo for sake of comparison.)
