I know its bit late to answer here and also its already been answered, but I came here looking for an easy fix using firebase notifications. Someone like me visiting here can do the solution by recommended and easy way of firebase notification, which is simply adding meta-data in manifest.
Reference
<!-- Set custom default icon. This is used when no icon is set for incoming notification messages. -->
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.firebase.messaging.default_notification_icon"
android:resource="@drawable/ic_stat_ic_notification" />
<!-- Set color used with incoming notification messages. This is used when no color is set for the incoming notification message. -->
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.firebase.messaging.default_notification_color"
android:resource="@color/colorAccent" />