A Splash of Tradition

The first new fire engine purchased in a decade made Station 10 its home in September of 2019. After 12 years in service, Tyler Fire was able to place one of its engines into reserve status and bring on a new Pierce PUC engine. Weighing more than 40,000 pounds and coming in at $625,000, Engine 10 was “pushed in” to its new bay on Old Omen Road. A push in ceremony is a fire service tradition that dates back more than 100 years. The wet down of a new fire truck represents the time when firefighters had to wet down the horses used to pull fire engines and then push the steam fire engines back into the fire station bay. The push-in ceremony dates back to the time of hand-pulled carts and horse drawn wagons which could not be easily be backed into the fire stations by the horses. Though attendees were warned to be clear of the “splash zone,” Councilman Don Warren got soaked in the tire washing process when water splashed backward onto him from his bucket.

When he complained, another person with a bucket splashed additional water on him.

Engine 10 wasn’t the only vehicle that made an appearance in 2019. Tyler Fire also added a new diesel brush truck and two diesel pull vehicles, a command haul truck and a HazMat haul truck. A new engine for Fire Station 9 has been placed under construction and is expected to make its Tyler Fire debut in late 2020 or early 2021.