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.
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