Idaho Falls Fire Department pushes new vehicle into service

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - It is a tradition in the fire services that when a new engine is put into duty, firefighters join in a ceremony to push the engine into the station.

On Monday, Fire Chief Duane Nelson and Deputy Chief Jon Perry joined Station 4 personnel as they washed, pushed in and placed Engine 4 into service.  

Fire Department spokesperson Kerry Hammon explained the tradition dates back to a time when horse-drawn engines had to be pushed into the station. When water was transferred from an old horse-drawn engine to a new one, some of the water would splash onto the new equipment and would have to be dried off.

Station 4 is located at Woodruff Avenue and Sunnyside Road. It will be one of the department’s front line response engines, replacing another that met its 15-year life cycle and will go into reserve. Station 4 is one of the busiest in Idaho Falls.