It’s a time-honored tradition dating back to the 17th century, and on Thursday, it played out again in White County. A small crowd gathered outside Fire Station 2 on Duncan Bridge Road for a ‘push-in’ ceremony for the fire department’s new engine.
Public safety director David Murphy thanked the citizens of White County for approving the 2020 special purpose local option sales tax that paid for Fire Engine 2.
“To the citizens of White County, you made this possible,” he said.
Murphy also thanked former White County Fire Chief Seth Weaver, “whose vision was behind this vehicle and put it together with his team at the time.”
The $435,000 diesel truck was built by E-1 in Ocala, Florida. It’s equipped to carry 1,000 gallons of water and can pump 1,500 gallons per minute. The engine is also equipped with 2,450 feet of water supply and fire attack hose, and extrication tools. It’s also equipped with basic medical gear for life support.
“A good many of our calls are medical calls,” said White County Fire Chief Mike LeFevre. “A lot of times, the guys on these trucks will be at the scene before an ambulance ever arrives, so this is more than just a fire truck; it says so much more than fire.”
The new fire response vehicle adds to the capabilities of White County’s Fire Department, which has seven stations, three of which are manned full-time.
Station 2 is one of the busiest stations in White County and logged over 600 runs last year, Murphy said.
Debt-free
White County Commission Chair Travis Turner told those gathered in person and those watching the ceremony livestream that the truck was purchased debt free.
“I’m very thankful for this,” he said, “to be in a position when needs arise reasonably to be able to fund these without encumbering our citizens on the hook for a debt load that at some point could come back to bite us – I’m very thankful.”
“You can have all the nice equipment in the world, but what matters is who’s standing behind it,” Turner said as he praised the county’s fire department personnel.
Before firefighters pushed the truck into the bay at Station 2, Chief LeFevre gave a brief history of the significance of the ceremony.
In the 17th century, when hand-drawn fire equipment returned from a fire, it had to be cleaned and pushed back into the station, LeFevre said. Horse-drawn steam pumpers in the 18th century were also pushed back into stations after fires.
The tradition held.
When the first motorized fire engine was put into service in the early 19th century, firefighters continued to honor the push-in tradition, which grew to mark each purchase of new fire apparatus.
“When you look over at this engine, there’s a lot more to this than pretty red paint,” Chief LeFevre said. “There’s a lot of heart that goes into this by our firefighters. They’ll take pride in this in serving our community, and that’s the most important thing – what we can give to our community. We’re here to serve.”
WATCH Engine 2 Push-In Ceremony livestream
