The Best Toy Fire Trucks

Gary B.

UPDATED March 29, 2019
in RC & toy vehicles

Best Overall

Green Toys
Eco Fire Truck

Firefighting is the ultimate dream job for young children. What’s not to like about driving around a massive red truck equipped with gushing hoses designed to battle fiery infernos? While most kids aspire for a piece of the action like drift cars or remote controlled helicopters, fire truck toys are a solid alternative. We’ve got 15 impressive toy fire trucks for your playroom rescue squad.

Our Top Picks

How to ChoosE the Best Toy Fire Truck

Hold on to your helmet, because there is an abundance of hot fire truck toys to choose from. In the section below, we’ll help you hose down the competition by honing in on 15 of the top options. Bad jokes aside, we’ve got the rundown on the top toys for junior firefighters.

1. Recommended Age

It’s import to consider your child’s age when choosing an appropriate toy. Brightly colored low-tech toys work well for toddlers. Children this age also respond well to bright lights and soothing sounds. However, special effect buttons need to be large and easy to engage.
Preschoolers engage in more problem solving and imaginative play. As such, firetrucks with moving parts, accompanying figurines, and electronic features work well. What’s more, more delicate materials, such as wood and thin plastic, is better suited for children of this age.

2. Type

It’s also important to consider exactly what type of fire truck your starry-eyed wonder is after.

Classic:
Classic wooden or even plastic firetrucks are like catapults for budding imaginations. Children must engage their right brain to come up with unique scenarios, movements, and effects.
Remote Control:
While remote control vehicles don’t encourage much movement, they do teach children about cause and effect. These fire trucks should be reserved for older children.
Ride-on:
Plastic doesn’t always get the best rep, but it’s budget-friendly, super durable, and easy to clean. There are even recycled alternatives for the eco-conscious kids in your life.

3. Material

What a fire truck is made from will affect the play experience, safety, and durability of this toy.

Plastic:
Ride-on fire trucks help children develop muscle tone and lower body strength. Not to mention, they are a great excuse to get outside and enjoy some fresh air.
Metal:
Metal is super durable and long-lasting. Many vintage-inspired fire trucks sport this time-tested material. While rust is always a risk with metal, most kids are willing to look past aesthetic blemishes.
Wood:
Wood is a renewable and durable material. While wooden fire toys tend to be a bit pricey, hey’re are a great option for parents looking to boost the aesthetics of their child’s playroom.

4. Size

When it comes to toys, size matters. Push fire trucks should be small enough to lift and boast accessories that can be easily handled by petite hands. Larger ride-on models should have weighted bases that can accommodate children of varying sizes.

5. Low or High-Tech

Low-tech toys are great for imaginative play, but there’s nothing wrong with a few bells and whistles. Just make sure any lights, sirens, and other colorful displays don’t detract from a toy’s playability.

6. Squirts Water

Many modern day toy manufacturers have stepped up their game by adding real water pumps and functioning hoses to their fire engines. These features give little ones a huge boost of confidence. Not to mention, they’re a great way to cool off on a hot summers day.

The Winners

Green Toys Eco-Friendly Fire Truck

Best Overall & Best for toddlers

Green Toys has wowed health (and environment) conscious parents with their BPA-, phthalate-, and PVC-free toys. The Green Toys Fire Truck is even packed in environmentally friendly materials and dyed with soy-based inks. Pretty impressive, right?

With that said, it’s the truck’s trio of ladders, rotating wheels, and chunky design that make it the best firetruck for toddlers. The truck boasts loads of integrated details, like hatchets, compartments, and dials. However, the only parts that disconnect are two eight-rung ladders.

It takes a lot to land a place as our Best Overall choice. However, the Green Toys fire truck was an easy choice. It is manufactured and assembled in the U.S.A. Not to mention, we love the fact that it is made from recycled milk jugs. Did we mention it’s dishwasher safe?

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 1 and up
Type: Classic
Material: Plastic
Size: Medium
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

Schylling Hook & Ladder Fire Truck

Upgrade choice & Best ride on fire truck

The title for our best kids ride-on fire truck goes to the freakishly adorable Schylling Hook & Ladder Fire Truck. This is definitely a solid upgrade from chunky plastic ride-on toys, but it’s well worth the extra dollars.

This ride-on hook and ladder track will send your rising hero on the track to firefighting stardom. The toy is made by the Schylling toy company, which has acquired a rarely contested reputation for quality. While the assembly process is a hassle, the elbow grease is well worth it.

Recommended Age: Suitable for toddlers
Type: Ride-on
Material: Plastic
Size: Medium
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck

Best Budget Buy

Prefer to stroke the mind of your budding engineer? LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck is a 214-piece city firefighting kit that provides two experiences in one. Children can enjoy building their very own ladder truck before using it to fight Lego City’s pixelized fires. The fire truck boasts a 360-degree pivoting ladder with telescoping extensions and a retractable hose. It also comes with two suited firefighters and a Lego-style blaze. A great toy for children torn between construction and destruction!

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 5 to 12 years
Type: Build and Push
Material: Plastic
Size: Small
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

Bruder Mack Granite Fire Engine

Biggest fire truck & Best Truck That Shoot Water

When the big blaze breaks out, you need to prepare your top engine. There’s no room for disappointment with the Bruder Mack Granite fire engine. This German-made rescue vehicle has super-realistic details, such as opening doors, movable rearview mirrors, and chrome accents. Kids can even put out fires with a retractable hose and fully functioning water pump! The manufacturer hasn’t left much to the imagination. The Bruder Mack Granite Fire Engine is a 1:16 scale model of the ones you parked at your local firehouse. It even has a fully extendable 4-foot ladder that’s well-suited for extinguishing skyscraper (err… counter high) scorches. There’s no doubt that this is the best fire truck for shooting water as well as one of the biggest fire truck toys we’ve come across. Throw in a few ultra-realistic Bruder figurines, and immersive your hit in fire fighting heaven.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 3 to 7
Type: Classic
Material: Plastic
Size: Large
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-Tech
Squirts Water: Shoots water

Melissa & Doug Wooden Fire Truck

Best Wooden Fire Truck

It’s hard to resist the Ikea-like simplicity of the Melissa & Doug toy collection. The Melissa & Doug Wooden Fire Truck collection is yet another great example of their boutique-worthy designs. In fact, with an adorable hand-painted truck, a roll-out hose, and wooden firefighter figurines, we’re happy to name is the best wooden fire truck. We couldn’t be more satisfied with the durable construction of this mostly wooden toy. While the ladder, bucket, and wheels are plastic, we’d say it’s strong enough to be considered a hand-me-down. Hose holes by the firefighter’s hands encourage imaginative play. The best part is you don’t need to worry about replacing batteries.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children over 3
Type: Classic
Material: Wood
Size: Small
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

Fisher-Price Lift 'n Lower Fire Truck

Thanks to the Fisher-Price Lift ‘n Lower Fire Truck, no child is too young to fight fires. This chunky plastic toy encourages interactive and imaginative play by rewarding children with songs and sounds. It even comes with three figures, including two firefighters and a dog mascot. We love that many of the interactive features double as play buttons. For example, sing-along songs play when the ladder is pivoted, the truck is pushed, and the driver’s seat is suppressed. With so many entertaining features, this truck is perfect for distracting overactive toddlers. In fact, with 25-plus phrases and songs, it may even give you enough time to catch up on your Netflix queue.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 12 months to 5 years
Type: Classic
Material: Plastic
Size: Small
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: High-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

Bruder MAN Fire Truck

Best Truck With Ladder & Best Bruder Fire Truck

There’s something magical about Bruder’s hyper-realistic toys. Their MAN fire truck’s functional water hose, extendable ladder, flashing lights, and blaring sirens are designed to entice your junior lieutenant. With tilting rearview mirrors and a wind-up hose, there’s no doubt that the Bruder MAN Fire Truck is Bruder’s best on the market. It also boasts the most impressive ladder. With a 4-foot range and 360-degree rotation, your little firefighter can take their rescue skills to (literally) new heights. Worried about the whole thing toppling over? Bruder has integrated realistic stabilizing legs to the bottom of their tanker. As such, your little hero can complete their training exercises without risking any interruptions.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 3 months to 8 years
Type: Classic
Material: Plastic
Size: Medium
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: High-tech
Squirts Water: Squirts water

Little Tikes Cozy Fire Truck

Is your toddler stuck in the mind-numbing world of push toys? Hit the pavement with the Little Tikes fire truck and they’ll never look back. This foot-powered fire truck would be perfect for fighting fires in Bedrock City. It’s also great for simulating backyard rescue scenarios while encouraging exercise. Talk about a win-win! The Little Tykes fire truck has a built-in water tank and pressurized hose for staving off imaginary flames. While parents will need to set aside time to assemble this adorable rescue vehicle, we promise that it’s well worth the commitment. It may even help you stave off those pesky demands for a pet Dalmatian.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 18 months to 5 years
Type: Ride-on
Material: Plastic
Size: Large
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: Squirts water

InStep Fire Truck Pedal Car

Tired of adding to your junkyard of plastic toys? The InStep Fire Truck Pedal Car features a vintage-inspired steel frame that will bring back memories of the good old days without conjuring up lead paint. Buy two and let your kiddos compete in a Little Rascal-esque soapbox derby. Or else, just let them pedal around the block in their 1950s Dip-Side, and watch as your neighbors drool with envy. Of course, Engine No. 7 wouldn’t be complete without a pull-string bell and removable wooden ladders.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 18 months to 5 years
Type: Ride-on
Material: Metal
Size: Large
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

#10

LEGO Duplo Town Fire Truck

Prefer to stroke the mind of your budding engineer? Lego’s 214-piece city firefighting kit provides two experiences in one. Children can enjoy building their very own ladder truck before using it to fight Lego City’s pixelized fires. The LEGO Duplo Town Fire Truck boasts a 360-degree pivoting ladder with telescoping extensions and a retractable hose. It also comes with two suited firefighters and a Lego-style blaze. A great toy for children torn between construction and destruction!

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 5 to 12 years
Type: Build and Push
Material: Plastic
Size: Small
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

#11

Matchbox Super Blast Fire Truck

Best fire truck toys for older kids

The Matchbox Super Blast Fire Truck’s incredible “water blasting” cannon made this an obvious contender for our best toy fire truck for kids title. I mean, do you know many kiddos who’d turn down the opportunity to shoot foam balls? When traditional fire trucks weren’t cutting it with our preschool-aged boy, we turned to this Nerf gun mutation. Needless to say, it provided hours of simulated destruction. Like any toy bullets,, the small balls were challenging to keep track of. Still, they are approximately the same size as those inexpensive foam golf balls. Hint, hint…

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 36 months to 7 years
Type: Classic
Material: Plastic
Size: Medium
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: Squirts water

#12

Tonka 90219 Fire-Vehicle

best metal fire truck toy

Wondering what lead us to name the Tonka 90219 Fire-Vehicle the best metal fire truck toy? Well, for starters, the front bumper is made of solid metal. Since most toddlers enjoy crashing their toys more than steering them, we couldn’t think of a more fitting design. Toss it in a backyard sandbox or let it accompany your troop of playroom toys for hours of imaginary rescues. Removable ladders and an extendable crane will wake the junior firefighter in your toddler.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 3 and older
Type: Classic
Material: Plastic and Steel
Size: Medium
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

#13

Kidkraft Fire Station Set

Why settle for a measly fire engine when you can have the entire station? KidKraft’s Fire Station sets the stage for countless imaginative play sessions. It comes with a whopping 15 accessories, including a helicopter, firefighter, and bendy Dalmatian. We were won over by KidKraft’s impressive blend of construction materials, which include wood, fabric, MDF, and rubber. Not to mention, the fire station is ablaze with colorful illustrative decals. While the figures and furniture toppled over easily, our toddler was too engrossed in his pretend fire fighting to even notice. This toy enables hours of imaginative play, making it great for curious young minds. Just pop this on a small table for 360 degrees of action.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 3 and older
Type: Classic
Material: Wood, fabric, MDF, and rubber
Size: Large
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: Low-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

#14

VTech Crawl & Cuddle Fire Truck

This adorable plush firetruck is the perfect gift for expectant first responders. It’s super soft and comes with plenty of smart features to entertaining little ones. In fact, it encourages crawling, reaching, and babbling. The VTech Crawl & Cuddle Fire Truck is designed with growing children in mind. In fact, it encourages letter recognition and verbal skills while posing as an ordinary play object. While noisy toys don’t always get a good rep, an adjustable volume knob and on/off button eliminate the need for earplugs.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 6 months to 3 years
Type: Stuffed
Material: Fabric
Size: Small
Low-Tech or Hi-Tech: High-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

#15

Best Choice Products RC Fire Truck

Best Remote Control Fire Truck

Our list wouldn’t be complete with a solid remote control fire engine. The Best Choice Products RC Fire Truck enables remote-controlled rescue sessions and speedy firefighter races. The truck is super realistic, with plenty of realistic decals. It also has a built-in siren and light effects for super immersive play. We love that that the Best Choice fire engine has an interference-free remote. In fact, this enabled our son to race his brother without any issues. We also can get down with the truck’s rechargeable battery, because remembering to stock up on one-time-use batteries just isn’t in our playbook.

Recommended Age: Suitable for children 3 years and older
Type: Remote controlled
Material: Plastic
Size: Small
Low-tech or Hi-Tech: High-tech
Squirts Water: No water function

DIY, Craft and Décor for Fire Truck lovers

Fire Finger Paint

Create an open-ended sensory experience by splashing fiery finger paints on a piece of white paper. Let your little one touch and spread the paint to create realistic flames or trace the letter “F”.

D.I.Y. Firetruck Tangrams

Don’t let your child’s love affair with fire trucks stand in the way of their education. Use colorful paper to create a firetruck tangram. Your little one can combine the shapes and glue them on paper to create firetruck art.

Toilet Paper Roll Flaming Towers

Help your preschooler stage their very own blaze. Repurpose used paper towel rolls and tissue paper to create blazing towers to accompany your child’s new fire engine. They can even push down the “flames” with their fingers to properly extinguish the infernos.

Cardboard Fire Engine

In most children’s eyes, nothing is more appealing than a cardboard box. Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial to make a cardboard box fire engine. The cherry red paint is optional!

Cardboard Box Fire Engine Costume

Only have one box on hand… No problem! Cut out the top and bottom, add a slash of color, and attach two ribbon straps to transform your child into a human fire engine. Keep it in storage for Halloween, and be sure to snap some pictures for grandma!

Graham Cracker Fire Engines

I don’t know about you, but my fire truck-obsessed toddler has an insatiable appetite. Instead of helplessly watching him drag crumbs across his playroom, I have incorporated edible crafts (yes, that’s a thing) into our daily routine. These edible fire engines are incredibly adorable and quasi-healthy.

Quick Decision

Green Toys’ Environmentally Friendly Fire Truck – Best Overall
With 15 amazing fire truck toys to choose from, we can totally understand if you’re a bit overwhelmed. Need a quick pick you won’t regret? Our editor’s choice is the Green Toys classic fire truck, an amazing eco-friendly toy that you don’t have to feel bad about buying. In fact, this low-tech engine continues to serve as a much-needed distraction for our destructive toddler.

Schylling Hook & Ladder Fire Truck – Upgrade Choice
Meanwhile, our top upgrade option is the Schylling Metal Speedster Fire Truck. This attractive Vintage-inspired ride-on toy is très chic. If you’re after an Instagram-worthy present for a future firefighter, look no further.

LEGO City 60107 Fire Truck – Best Budget Buy
Finally, our best budget buy is the amazing LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck. Not only does this set double as a construction kit and fire engine playset, but it can be combined with other Legos for endless sessions of imaginative play. For just over $30, this pick is a no-brainer.

Gary B.

Gary is a father of two, self-identified RC fanboy, and part-time guitar plucker. When he's not racing his collection of remote-controlled vehicles or strumming away, we bend his arm and get him to write with precision and expertise on a range of mechanical and electrical toys.

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