The new pumper is an addition to the firehouse’s engine and high-water rescue apparatus. It is also equipped with a bell that has been passed on from rig to rig since 1993, engraved with the words “We always remember our past.”  

Installing the bell, Fire Department Executive Director Ray Maguire said, was a way “to keep our history alive.”

The John B. Glaser Fire Station, also known as Station 71, is one of the busiest fire stations in the state of Kansas and home to the second busiest Johnson County Med-Act ambulance in the county.  

At the direction of Fire Chief John Mattox, the department’s apparatus committee designed the new engine to be the first to display an updated gray over red color scheme. Shawnee Fire Marshal Corey Sands and Firefighter Duffy Muehlberger gave Operation 100 News a sneak peek of the new engine last week.

A 2012 Honda Civic slammed into the rear of the fire engine as it was stopped in the right lane assisting a two-vehicle crash on Chippenham Parkway northbound, north of Hopkins Road, said Sgt. Keeli L. Hill, a Virginia State Police spokeswoman.  

The driver of the Honda, identified as Joseph N. Clary, 40, of Chester, was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Clary has been charged with reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.