Gridley's old Truck 74 had been in service since 2007. On Aug. 28 the Gridley Fire Department put the brand-new ladder truck that replaces it into service at Station 74 the traditional way, with a push-in ceremony, according to the Butte County unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
The custom goes back to the horses. The ceremony "dates back to the late 1800s when fire engines were pulled by horses," according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR), and "the community would join the firefighters pushing the new unit into the station where they could then hitch the horses and ready the unit for the next emergency."
In Wichita, the fire department had held push-ins at Stations 16 and 14 by July 21 and said two more were coming that week.
In early September, Boca Raton Fire Rescue pushed its newest engine into Station 5, "surrounded by current and retired members of our Fire Rescue family."
If you have a rig coming, invite your retirees, as Boca did. In MDFR's account of the history, the community was on the bumper too.
Sources (4)
Sources
- Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Welcomes into Service Two Units during Two Push-In Ceremonies in Miami-Dade County (Miami-Dade County)
- Gridley Truck 74 push-in ceremony (CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire Department on X)
- New engine at Station 14 push-in ceremony (Wichita Fire Department on X)
- A new chapter begins at Station 5 (Boca Raton Fire Rescue on X)
