A new piece of equipment is now in place at St. Cloud Fire Rescue Station 33 in Friar's Cove, just south of the city of St. Cloud.
Engine 33, a $700,000 investment in the agency's public safety, is now in service after the agency held a traditional "Wet Down, Push Back" ceremony Friday morning.
For fire tech geeks, the new Pierce Impel will provide the city's first responders with equipment that has increased reliability, added features and lower maintenance costs. The new unit, which replaces an aging 2016 model, features a 750-gallon capacity water tank, and a 1,500gpm single stage water pump, SCFR said.
The first part of the ceremony involved washing the new engine, using water from the old engine it is replacing. Firefighters were then joined by elected officials and other dignitaries to dry it off and push back, literally, the new apparatus into the firehouse. This is a tradition dating to before the automobile, when horses used in the fire service could not back into the station with their water pumper wagon attached.
