Calif. fire trucks becoming Matchbox collectibles

By Janette Williams
Pasadena Star-News

PASADENA, Calif. — A deal that would bring Pasadena 100 new fire engines, all for free, is in the works.

Teeny-weeny, 1/64th-scale Mattel "Matchbox" fire engines, that is.

Under the agreement being worked out, Mattel Inc. would give the city 100 of the tiny toys bearing tiny Pasadena Fire Department logos in exchange for permission to create and mass-produce them as collectibles worldwide.

"It's definitely flattering," Pasadena fire Chief Dennis Downs said.

"We may not be a big city like L.A. or Chicago or New York, but just about anywhere you go people know about Pasadena. I guess that's the world renown we have with the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl," he said.

The City Council gave the green light Monday night to Mattel's plan to use the logo, which includes the city seal and its motto: "Desire to Serve, Courage to Act," on the toys.

The financial pay-off for the city isn't huge — the donation of 100 toy engines and the chance to buy a possible limited-edition collectors' version — but has great value from a marketing and tourism standpoint, city spokeswoman Ann Erdman said.

"It's a basic branding and ID for Pasadena and the Pasadena Fire Department," she said.

"Matchbox collectors across the world, from kings to peasants, are waiting," Erdman joked, "and now it's Go-Go-Go with capital Gs, and we're very excited about it."

The idea to use the local logo came from the former roommate of a member of Mattel's development team, said the company's Megan Margolis, who used to live in Pasadena.

"It always had a special place in his heart," she said. "I don't know the details, but his roommate's life was saved by a paramedic with the Pasadena Fire Department."

Margolis said Mattel has used other cities' logos for Matchbox police cars, trash trucks and municipal vehicles. But she believes this is the first time a specific logo has been used on their toy fire trucks.

Mattel spokeswoman Michele Sturdivant said the details of the deal are being finalized — the City Attorney's Office is in the process of registering the Fire Department logo and city seal for formal trademark protection — and it will take up to a year to complete the process.

The Matchbox toys, which can cost anywhere from $2 up, would be available to the many avid collectors worldwide and will join other city collectibles for sale at Pasadena City Hall.

"Most souvenirs have City Hall on them, some with the obligatory rose," Erdman said, "but we have mugs, ties and coasters with the city seal."

The Pasadena logo on the toy fire trucks will be "small but unmistakable" Erdman said, and it's important to note it includes "California."

"There are five other states that have a Pasadena," she said, ticking off Maryland, Texas, Missouri and Florida. "We are completely worthy of this honor," she said, tongue-in-cheek. "We would pit our fire engines against the fire engines in Pasadena, Maryland, any day."