Fire Department Shirts
Custom fire department shirts for the crew, the station and the fundraiser table. Olive Branch Apparel screen prints and embroiders duty tees, off duty shirts and hoodies for volunteer and career departments, firefighter associations and the people who organize the pancake breakfast.
Put your department name on a heavyweight cotton tee in the studio below, set the quantity and see your price as you go. There is no minimum order, so one replacement shirt for a new member is as welcome as a full roster.
Design Your Fire Department Shirts Here
Drop your emblem on a real shirt, set the roster size and watch the price for your custom fire department shirts update live. The studio opens on a heavyweight cotton tee, the classic station shirt, and you can swap to a long sleeve, a hoodie or a hat.
Custom Fire Department Shirts Start with the Back Print
Most departments spend their design time on the emblem and treat the back as an afterthought. On a working shirt it runs the other way. The back is what the public, mutual aid crews and your own officers read, so plan it first and let the chest follow.
The Back Does the Identifying
At a scene, a training night or a parade detail, people see firefighter shirts from behind and from a distance. Large block lettering with the department name arched or stacked across the shoulder blades reads cleanly. Fine script and thin outlines disappear once you are a truck length away.
Keep the back to one or two ink colors with real contrast against the shirt. White or athletic gold on navy is common for a reason. Leave room under the lettering if members want a station number or a line such as engine company or rescue added later.
The Chest Carries the Emblem
The left chest is small, roughly the width of a hand, and a traditional fire service emblem packs a lot into that space. Tools, a ladder, a hydrant and a ring of lettering all compete. At chest size the smallest text is the first thing to fill in with ink.
A simplified chest version of the emblem solves it. Drop the inner lettering, thicken the outline and keep the department initials or number in the middle. We clean up or redraw rough and scanned emblems, and you see the result on your proof.
Get those two placements right and the same artwork carries across duty tees, long sleeves and hoodies without a redesign. It also keeps reorders simple when new members join, because nothing about the layout depends on any one particular garment.
Fire Department Apparel We Print and Embroider
Duty and Station Tees
Heavyweight cotton fire department t shirts with a left chest emblem and a full back print, made for wearing around the station and under a job shirt.
Fundraiser and Event Shirts
Screen printed shirts for breakfasts, open houses and memorial events, with per-piece pricing that falls as the run grows so more of each sale stays with the department.
Embroidered Hats and Polos
Embroidered hats, beanies and polos for officers, association boards and off duty wear, stitched with a simplified emblem that stays readable at small sizes.
From Department Emblem to Boxed Order in Six Steps
You approve a proof before anything is printed, so the whole roster gets exactly what the committee signed off on.
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1
Pick Your Garment
Three we actually recommend, with the reasons why. Full catalog is one click away.
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2
Drop In Your Art
Upload a logo or start from a sketch. We fix files that will not print.
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3
See Your Price
Per-piece pricing moves as you change quantity and print locations.
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4
Approve A Proof
Nothing runs until you have seen exactly what we are about to make.
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5
We Print It
Screen print, embroidery or DTF, whichever your art and quantity call for.
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6
It Ships
About 14 days from the day you approve the proof, printed and boxed.
Price the Whole Roster in One Pass
Set your quantity in the studio and see your price move as you add shirts, a back print or a second garment. No waiting on a callback to learn where you stand.
One Shirt or the Whole Roster
There is no minimum order. Replace a single worn duty tee or outfit every member at once, and watch the per-piece price fall in the studio as the quantity climbs.
The Committee Sees It First
Every order gets a proof showing placement, lettering and ink colors. Pass it around the officers or the fundraiser committee, then approve it. Nothing is printed before that.
Old Emblems Welcome
A photo of a faded patch or a scan of an old letterhead is enough to start. We clean up or redraw the emblem so it prints sharply on fabric.
A Person Answers
Call on a weekday between 9am and 5pm Mountain and a person at the Fort Collins shop picks up. Useful when a fundraiser date is close and you need a straight answer.
When Fire Departments Order Shirts
Fire department shirts follow the calendar of the department more than the calendar of the year. Four moments tend to prompt an order, and each one brings a different timing problem that is easier to handle when you have planned for it.
Once the board or the municipality approves the apparel line, order the full duty issue at once. One larger run costs less per shirt than several small ones spread across the year.
Recruits and probationary members need shirts before their first drill night. With no minimum order, you can add two or three pieces in the same design whenever a class starts.
Count back from the event date. Allow about 14 days after proof approval, plus time before that to gather sizes and settle the artwork with the committee.
Milestone years, new apparatus dedications and memorial events call for a dated design. Keep those runs close to your presale count, because a dated shirt is hard to sell afterward.
The steady approach is one undated department design that you can reorder in any quantity, with dated or event shirts added only when there is a reason. If a date is tight, call and ask. Sometimes an order can be turned faster, and we will tell you honestly.
Fabric, Ink and What a Duty Tee Goes Through
One thing to be plain about. We do not make flame resistant or NFPA rated station wear, and nothing on this page is protective clothing. What we make is the cotton tee, long sleeve, polo, hoodie and hat that sit alongside rated gear, worn around the station, under a job shirt or off duty.
Fabric choice still matters. Many departments specify all cotton for anything worn under turnout gear, because synthetic blends can melt when exposed to high heat while cotton chars instead. That does not make cotton protective, so follow your department's policy and your safety officer's guidance on what goes under gear.
Navy and black dominate the fire service, and dark shirts change how ink behaves. Light ink colors need a white underbase printed first, then the color on top. That adds a little thickness to the print and is one more reason to keep small lettering bold rather than delicate.
Screen printing suits a roster order. It handles one to three solid colors well, holds up to frequent hot washes and gets cheaper per shirt as the count rises. Direct-to-film works for full color artwork or very short runs, such as a detailed anniversary design for a handful of members.
Embroidery belongs on polos, hats, beanies and hoodies, where the fabric is heavy enough to support the stitching. On a thin tee a dense embroidered emblem puckers and pulls. Thread also cannot hold lettering as small as ink can, so the chest emblem usually needs simplifying again for stitching.
Fundraiser Date Already on the Calendar
Tell us the event date, the rough count and what you want on the shirt. We will work back from the date and tell you plainly whether standard turnaround fits.
Custom Fire Department Shirts That Raise Money
A fundraiser shirt has a different buyer than a duty shirt. Members will wear anything with the department name on it. The neighbor at the chicken barbecue will only buy a shirt they would wear to the grocery store, so design it for them.
That usually means a front print the public can read, the town or district name given real prominence, and artwork that says community as much as it says fire service. An engine silhouette, the station itself or the year the department was founded all work better than inside jokes.
Volunteer fire department shirts are easier to sell when people can order ahead. Run a presale through the auxiliary or the department's social page, collect sizes and payment, then order to that count with a modest cushion for walk-up sales on the day. You avoid guessing and you avoid leftover boxes.
Watch the size spread. A public fundraiser draws people across the whole range, and the sizes at both ends are the ones committees forget to order. Hoodies and long sleeve tees earn their place at fall and winter events, when a tee alone is a harder sell.
Because there is no minimum order, a second run after the event is simple. If the design sold through, order it again in whatever quantity the late requests add up to, using the same approved artwork and the same standard turnaround.
Fire Department Shirt Questions
Is there a minimum order for custom fire department shirts?
No. You can order one shirt or enough custom fire department shirts for the whole roster. The per-piece price drops as the quantity goes up, so it is worth combining duty issue and extras into one order when you can. The design studio shows the price at any quantity before you commit.
Can you use our emblem if the file is old or low quality?
Yes. Send whatever you have, even a phone photo of a patch or the decal on an apparatus door. We clean up or redraw rough logos so they print well, and you see the result on a proof before anything is printed. For custom fire department shirts it is worth having a simplified chest version alongside the full emblem.
How long does an order take?
Standard turnaround is about 14 days from the day you approve the proof. Build in extra time before that for collecting sizes and getting officers to agree on the artwork, which is usually the slow part. If your date is tight, ask. Sometimes an order can be done faster, and we will tell you either way.
Should duty shirts be screen printed or embroidered?
Screen printing is the usual choice for fire department t shirts. It is durable, reads well from a distance and costs less per piece on a roster order. Embroidery suits polos, hats, beanies and hoodies, where the heavier fabric supports the stitches. Plenty of departments use both.
What ink colors work best on navy shirts?
High contrast ink. White, athletic gold, silver gray and red all read well on navy, though red needs a white underbase to stay bright. Limit the design to one or two ink colors where you can. Each added color adds a screen and cost, and a clean two color print usually looks sharper on a duty shirt than a busy one.
How should we handle sizes for a full roster?
Collect sizes in writing rather than guessing, and ask members to check a shirt they already own. Heavyweight cotton tees have a roomy, boxy cut, so most people take their usual size. Add a few spares in your most common sizes for new members. Custom fire department shirts in the same design can be reordered in any quantity later.
Can you ship to our station?
Yes. The shop is in Fort Collins, Colorado, and orders ship across the United States. Volunteer stations are often empty during the day, so give a delivery address where someone can receive boxes, whether that is the station, the town hall or a member's workplace.
Do you print fundraiser shirts for associations and auxiliaries?
Yes. Firefighter associations, auxiliaries and event committees order the same way a department does. Design the shirt in the studio or send artwork, approve the proof, and plan for about 14 days after approval. A presale helps you order close to real demand, and there is no minimum if you need a small second run.
Where We Are
Olive Branch Apparel
706 East Stuart Street
Fort Collins, CO 80525
One Design for the Whole Department
Start with a single duty tee or the full roster. Build your custom fire department shirts in the studio, see your price live, approve the proof, and the order ships from Fort Collins to your station.