“Push-In” ceremonies are held at firehouses all over the nation when a new piece of firefighting apparatus is introduced.
Photo courtesy of Deb Sidener
PERRY TOWNSHIP — It’s not often that you get the chance to take part in a tradition dating back over 200 years, so when the opportunity arose, my husband Larry and I went for it.
Early on a cold foggy morning on Jan. 26, we drove to the Perry Township Fire Department at 2408 E. Breese Road to watch an apparatus “Push-In” ceremony for the township’s brand new fire pumper truck. Perry Fire Chief Kevin Rader had invited us and anyone interested to come and help celebrate this time-honored tradition of initiation for the township’s new piece of equipment.
The tradition of the “Push-In” dates back to the early 1800s when horse-drawn firefighting equipment was used to battle fires. In those days upon returning from a call, some of the firefighters cared for the horses while some would need to manually push the fire wagon back into the bay of the firehouse as horses could not reverse the heavy equipment.
Over time, as motorized fire trucks came into use, the need to manually move the equipment ended but the tradition was kept as a memorial to the old days. “Push-In” ceremonies are held at firehouses all over the nation when a new piece of firefighting apparatus is introduced.
The majority of the Perry Township fire department and EMS crew were on hand to help commission Perry’s new pumper, along with a few township residents who took pride in seeing where some of their tax dollars had gone. Surrounded by his team, Rader sat in the cab of the beautiful new pumper and officially called it into service for the first time.
If you are interested in seeing a “Push In” ceremony, go to firerescue1.com and search for push in ceremonies.
