Golder Ranch Fire Department and Senior Village celebrated an age-old tradition in the firefighting community. Together, they pushed in a brand-new fire truck to the station on SaddleBrooke Boulevard.
Back in the 1800’s, after crews returned from a call on horse-drawn equipment, the animals were unable to back into the station, so members detach the horses and push the equipment into the bay. With the advent of motorized equipment, the need to manually move an engine was gone. However, that set the stage for the legacy of the “push-in.” Many fire departments hold a push-in ceremony when taking delivery of new equipment.
Senior Village volunteers helped push in Golder Ranch’s new Engine 373. According to Lydia Camarillo, Community/Media Relations, Golder Ranch Fire, this $775,000 engine has a 1,500-gallon pump, a 750-gallon water tank, weighs 55,000-pounds and carries six firefighters.
Fire Chief Tom Brandhuber pointed out that the biggest feature of the new equipment is the clean cab concept. Firefighters are exposed to dangerous carcinogens in the line of duty. "The clean cab concept reduces the risk," says Chief Brandhuber, who explained, “When we go to a fire, we come out with toxins on our turnout gear. Now, we have secure lockers outside of the cab, and we “turn out” (remove protective gear) outside and place it in compartments on the outside of the truck. We put air packs on after we get to the fire.” He added that all loose equipment is also locked down in a special compartment to create a safer environment in case of a traffic accident. This is Golder Ranch Fire District’s first clean-cab fire truck.
In attendance from Senior Village were a retired Fire Chief, a retired volunteer firefighter and a resident whose father was a volunteer firefighter. All had participated in many push-in ceremonies. So, the legacy continues and this event connected the present and the future to past firefighting traditions.
SaddleBrooke welcomes this new, safer equipment to the fleet.
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