Lots of people already know the reason why Dalmatian dogs are associated with fire engines. (Honestly, it’s a weird association, if you think about it.) Dalmatian dogs were bred for over two centuries to encourage their horse-following tendencies. At least anecdotally, their purpose was to follow horse-drawn coaches, calmly and consistently, for miles upon miles, without interfering or bothering the horses. This developed to an association with horse-drawn fire engines. Various sources claim that Dalmatians were so widely adapted by firefighters because they kept the horses calm during fires; or maybe they protected the horses and equipment from interference; or maybe they ran on ahead of the fire engine to clear a path.
I extra-like this gif (and proposed backstory) because it seems to imply that modern Dalmatian dogs still have an affinity for horses and will follow them.
