The City of Albemarle celebrated its new Fire Engine 2 with a special push-in ceremony at Fire Station 2 on Concord Road on Monday.
The event brought together community members, city leaders, city staff and members of the Albemarle Fire Department. During the ceremony, participants sprayed the new truck with water, dried it and then joined together to push it into its home bay.
“The fire truck push-in ceremony is a time-honored tradition in the fire service. It dates back to the late 1800s when fire departments used horses to pull apparatus to fires,” Albemarle Interim Fire Chief Kenny Kendall said. “After fighting the fire, the crews would wash both horses and apparatus and would then push the apparatus into the station’s bay.”
Fire Engine 2 is a 2023 Smeal pumper truck containing a 1,100-foot of water supply line with a water tank that can hold 470 gallons of water and 30 gallons of foam. The truck also features a cab that can seat six firefighters.
“Bringing a new fire truck into service takes a lot of teamwork and we’re grateful to everyone for their efforts. We also extend thanks to our residents. Their support makes it possible to have this critical investment for our community,” said Albemarle Mayor Ronnie Michael.
Prior to putting the truck into service, Albemarle firefighters visited the manufacturing facility in Nebraska to conduct final inspections. AFD reviewed the fire truck to ensure the specifications given to the manufacturer were followed in detail. The truck was then sent to North Carolina for equipment up-fitting.