Riverside Fire Department Trucks Recreate Historic Photo at Courthouse

The updated photo will be featured as a center page spread in the August edition of Riversider Magazine.

Riverside Fire Department Trucks Recreate Historic Photo at Courthouse
The sun offered unique challenges for getting just the right shot. (Ian Crawford)

More than a dozen Fire Department vehicles gathered at the historic courthouse on Main Street Sunday morning for a Riversider magazine photo shoot recreating a 1987 photograph.

The setup replicates a photo taken in 1987 to commemorate the Fire Department's 100th anniversary and will be featured in the magazine’s August issue highlighting Riverside’s fire and police departments.

Riversider photographer and publisher Zach Cordner and photographer Julian Jolliffe coordinated with Ward 1 Councilmember Philip Falcone and Fire Chief Steve McKinster, selecting which vehicles would make the final cut and positioning them in the courthouse space. The fleet ranged from ladder trucks to paramedic transport units.

“This is the biggest production we’ve done for The Riversider. We are excited for the results and to be able to recreate and update such a historic photo,” Cordner said.

The recreation required skilled driving and careful coordination to match the positioning of the 1987 photograph, taken at the same location for the department’s 100th anniversary.

Some passersby stopped to watch the spectacle of multiple fire trucks positioned on Main Street.

The photographers worked to capture the updated fleet while maintaining the composition of the original image, showcasing how the department’s equipment has evolved.

The 1987 photograph was taken to mark the Fire Department’s centennial. The new version will serve as a centerpiece for Riversider magazine’s August tribute to local first responders.

The shoot involved precise maneuvering to fit the modern fleet into the downtown setting, requiring multiple attempts to achieve the desired result.

The completed photograph will appear alongside other features celebrating Riverside’s fire and police departments in the upcoming issue.

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