SEDRO-WOOLLEY — The Sedro-Woolley Fire Department officially welcomed its new engine Wednesday afternoon, June 11, with a Push-In Ceremony.

“This is a tradition that some departments have done when they receive a new fire engine or apparatus to celebrate,” Fire Chief Frank Wagner said. “It started back in the horse-drawn fire service days when members had to push the equipment back into the station after they unhooked their horses.

“So that became tradition, a celebration when you got a new apparatus, for good luck and then to show the dedication and commitment from the community and to show some pride from the agency, they hold Push-In Ceremonies.”

This ceremony, however, was the first of its kind for the department.

“This just signifies dedication, teamwork and just honoring the past,” firefighter Bobby Castilleja said. “We also want to thank the community for giving us the money to purchase a new apparatus and to thank the community for their dedication and support.”

After being in the works for years, the Rosenbauer company of South Dakota’s fire engine and its accompanying upgrades — at a cost of about $1.1 million — finally arrived.

“We have literally … been saving for this rig for over 20 years,” Wagner said. “This rig is going to replace one that is over 22 years old.

“This is a huge investment in not only our firefighters and their safety with having new equipment, but to our community as well.”

Members of the community, including Mayor Julia Johnson, along with Wagner and Assistant Chiefs Glen and Jerry Gardner, as well as numerous department personnel, put their backs into “pushing” the rig into the bay.

Pushing may have been a bit of a misnomer, seeing how Castilleja was seated behind the wheel and may or may not have had the rig creeping in reverse.

“We should have got it over a year-and-a-half ago, and we are still waiting on some equipment, but we are almost there,” Wagner said.

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During the next few weeks, new equipment and accompanying upgrades will continue to be installed.

“When we have the time, it’s more screws and more bolts,” Glen Gardner said. “I’ve been in there 10 hours a day, bolting more things in and working with the mechanics. It has definitely been a lot of work.”

Wagner added that most of that time was spent figuring out where everything was going to fit and where it was going to be most functional.

“We are literally building three trucks right now,” he said. “Finding out where certain equipment goes and where it works best.”

The specs are the same between all of the department’s apparatuses of this type.

“As we transition, the idea is

KEEPING IT SAFE

BY ROBERT TUTTEROW

As many of us are aware, most fire departments are struggling with recruitment and retention. Even major metro departments that used to have thousands of people take their entrance exams are now seeing those numbers reduced by up to 90 percent.

There are several factors leading to this change. One that has caught my attention is the fact that in addition to firefighting being an inherently dangerous job, it is now seen as a very unhealthy one.

I will suggest that today’s parents might be discouraging their children to have an interest in the fire service because of health and safety factors. We know there are a lot of parents who discourage their young children from participating in football because of the likelihood of injury.

I think there is also a lack of work ethic among today’s youth, especially as it relates to manual work—thanks to way too much screen time. I also must acknowledge that there are a few exceptions to this lack of work ethic, as some of today’s youth are remarkable in what they do.

So, if the safety and health risks are a deterrent to recruiting new members, what can be done to change that? Can we wait on robots and AI to replace us? I am more skeptical about this happening than some. Some have suggested that we just quit talking about the job being risky and unhealthy. But, that is totally disingenuous.

Let’s use military jobs as a comparison. Clearly, there are inherent risks involved in enlisting in one of the military branches. If the data being reported are correct, the number of young people applying to the armed forces has increased in recent months after a period of decline. Perhaps there are things we can glean from this recent change without getting political. Though I do not have firsthand experience with current military technology, I understand it is quite robust and far superior to the technology we use in the fire service.

The advances in warfare technology are certainly far superior to what they used to be. Take a tour of Gettysburg for a perspective on the change in warfare technology. And, I would be remiss if I did not mention the discipline component of the military. While I do not propose a military type of discipline structure throughout the fire service, there are a lot of health and safety risks that would be minimized with the proper adoption of military discipline principles.

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Following along with the military comparison, there is the parallel track that the fire service must be considered critical infrastructure. This includes its members, its fleet, its facilities, its equipment, and its training. And, it must be funded accordingly. The backbone of this infrastructure is the health and safety of its members. What is the emphasis on health and safety among those serving in the military? Think about that one for a long time.

We also need to do a better job of marketing what we do and how we do it. Appearance is important. We need to provide a look that creates a positive impression on our customers instead of focusing on making our own self-impression. As a former wise old civilian fire department employee once told me, “Firefighters dress and act to impress each other.”

Fuad Shalhout
mlive.com
(TNS)

DAVISON, MI – The Davison-Richfield Fire Authority is exploring the possibility of building a new headquarters fire station to replace its decades-old downtown facility.

The idea was recently discussed by the Davison-Richfield Fire Authority Board, where representatives heard a preliminary presentation from AMAG, an architectural firm based in Flint, outlining a potential 6-acre site for development.

No final decision has been made, and Davison-Richfield Fire Chief Brian Flewelling said the project remains in the early stages.

The fire department currently serves Davison Township, Richfield Township, as well as the city of Davison.

Its main facility – Station 1, located at 403 S. Main Street – is approximately 70 years old and faces growing limitations.

The station’s age and design have restricted the size of vehicles the department can purchase, and it lacks space to support expanded staffing or operations.

“We’ve outgrown it many years ago,” said Flewelling, who also serves as a county commissioner. “We’re finally getting to the point where we have to make some changes and build potentially a new headquarters station to better serve the community.”

Flewelling said the station would ideally be near the existing site.

He said he hopes within three to six months, the department will have some more clarity on a plan and how to fund it.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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WEIS FIRE— Girdletree (MD) Volunteer Fire Department Quick Attack unit. Ford F-550 4×4 crew cab and chassis; 7.3L V-8 430-hp gas engine; Hale HPX275-B35 250-gpm @ 25-psi pump; UPF Poly DEF 2C 400-gallon water tank; rear-mount pump controls; two ground sweep nozzles; TFT Tornado monitor; extruded aluminum body. Dealer: Mike Weis, Weis Fire & Safety Equipment, Salina, KS.

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APPARATUS IDEAS

BY BOB VACCARO

The Riverhead (NY) Volunteer Fire Department (RFD) was organized in 1836 to provide fire protection for the approximately 48 square miles that make up the Riverhead Fire District, the largest on Long Island.

The department is now 210 members strong, with six companies comprising 35 members each. It stretches over the township of Riverhead and into parts of both Southampton and Brookhaven Townships as well. The RFD responds to an ever-growing number of alarms, averaging around 1,400 emergency calls a year. The department operates from four strategically located stations to provide coverage for the large area.

Captain Justin Berry, who was on the apparatus committee along with Former Chief Joe Hartman, began the process to replace a 1997 tanker that was 27 years old and that had begun to show its age. “Our district mechanic stated that the vehicle was starting to age out on parts as well,” says Berry. “The older tanker only had a 500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and couldn’t store a FOL-DA-TANK with limited compartment space. This time around, we wanted a self-contained unit. We wanted an apparatus that could be used not only as a tanker but as a pumper if needed. Also, we were interested in a larger tank and bigger pump and a little more compartment space.”

Fouts Fire Tanker-Pumper

• Kenworth T-880 chassis, Fouts Fire body
• Paccar MX13 565-hp engine
• Allison 4000EVS transmission
• Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump
• 4,000-gallon polypropylene tank
• Wetside design
• Four low-side compartments equipped with AMDOR roll-up doors
• Manually activated Newton stainless steel swivel dump valve
• Two rear body direct tank fills
• Storage for two 10-foot lengths of lightweight hard suction
• Storage for one 4,000-gallon aluminum FOL-DA-TANK portable tank
• Whelen LED warning and scene light package

The design of the new tanker-pumper would call for carrying two 200-foot lengths of 1¾-inch attack lines and 600 feet of 3-inch hose for supply line. “Our district has several trailer parks with no hydrants, so this type of unit would be to our advantage, not only to operate independently but to supply our other engines as well,” says Berry.

The department looked at several manufacturers but wanted a quicker delivery. It worked with Bulldog Fire Apparatus in Connecticut, which represents Fouts Fire. “They had a similar truck that we looked at and liked the quality of the build,” Berry says. “It turned out that the factory down in Georgia had a tanker-pumper that was already built for another department in Louisiana that it decided not to purchase. They sent us some photos and a video, and it had everything we wanted on the vehicle. We decided to go with this unit.” Although the apparatus purchasing committee wasn’t able to visit the factory, it went to Connecticut to do a final inspection with the dealer. “What also helped us was that we went with the HGAC procurement process, so it speeded up the purchase and delivery,” Berry adds.

1 The Riverhead (NY) Volunteer Fire Department Fouts Fire tanker-pumper built on a Kenworth T-880 Chassis with body by Fouts Fire. (Photos by author.)

2 The rear swivel dump