By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

With the help of the community, the Wyoming Fire Department welcomed its newest truck Tuesday night by pushing it into the station.

It is a tradition that dates back to the 1800s, according to Wyoming Fire Chief Brian Bennett.

“So the push-in started back in the days of the horse-drawn carriages,” Bennett said. “Every time the firefighters returned from a call, the horses could not back up and push the equipment into the station.”

The firefighters would have to disconnect the horses and physically push the equipment back into the station, he said.

As the equipment modernized and the need for horses lessen so did the need for the firefighters to push the equipment.

“It was a really cool tradition that they had done for years and firefighters wanted to figure out a way to continue that tradition,” Bennett said. “So it came to be that when a department received a new piece of equipment, the push-in still stayed there as the department would push that piece into the station to signify the equipment’s start of service.”

A little help from the community

In fact, the Wyoming Fire Department has done push-ins with all of its equipment over the years but what made Tuesday’s event special is it was the first time the public was invited to join the department for the push-in.

“The public needs to be involved in this too because you are just as much a part of this as we are,” Bennett said to those in attendance. “We get to play with the shiny new toys but without the support of the community none of this takes place.”

There was supposed to be two new fire trucks at the event but one was still having the final touches done in Kalamazoo.

A design that fits the community

The new trucks, which replace two older fire trucks that were sold in June, are smaller than the standard engines many residents are use to seeing. However, outside of the fact that the new trucks seat two people versus six, the trucks have all of the capacity of a larger engine at about half the cost, Bennett said, adding the trucks are able to pump water and have ladders. A fire truck that seats six is around $650,000 while the two-person vehicle is closer to $350,000.

Because of its versatility, the trucks are able to complete many different tasks that are needed in the city such as responding to a medical request or putting out a dumpster fire. The trucks also will be able to support the other vehicles in the fleet and vice versa.

“You really need to design your equipment by what you do in your community,” Bennett said. “It is not about the community neighbor who has the flashier, shiner truck. We design our trucks to help with what we do most in our city.”

Pierce Manufacturing, a manufacturer of custom fire apparatus, built the trucks at its Florida plant. The trucks were delivered to the city in August.