Fire Department to hold push in ceremony

ROSEBURG -- The Roseburg Fire Department is dedicating the community’s newest fire engine with a traditional “Push In” ceremony Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, at 9 a.m.

The “Push In” ceremony will be held at the Fire Department’s Station Two, located at 2177 W. Harvard Ave.

The dedication will consist of a ceremonial wash-down of the new fire engine and then the engine will be pushed by hand into the apparatus bay of its new firehouse. The dedication ceremony is new to the City of Roseburg Fire Department, but has been a tradition in the fire service since the days of horse drawn fire apparatus.

When fire apparatus were pulled by horses, horses could not back the fire apparatus into the firehouse, so the crew would have to unhitch the horses in front of the firehouse. The crew would stable the horses, then wash the apparatus prior to pushing it into the apparatus bay. This ceremony honors the history and traditions of the fire service while wishing well upon all that serve on and are served by our community’s newest fire engine.

The new engine is a 2021 Pierce Impel 1500 gallon per minute pumper. The state of the art pumper was designed and outfitted by City of Roseburg Fire Department Apparatus Committee members. The pumper was purchased through Hughes Fire Equipment and manufactured by Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton Wisconsin. This engine will replace a 1997 KME engine that served 15 years as a first out fire engine and 10 years as a reserve.