FAIRHOPE – With a ceremony that dates back to horse-drawn fire engines of the 19th Century, the Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department dedicated its newest addition Saturday.
The department held a Wash Down-Push In ceremony to commemorate the addition of its new fire engine at the station on South Ingleside Street. Department Chief Chris Ellis said the event is part of a long tradition in firefighting.
“The pushback ceremony dates back to the 1800s. When horses pulled the fire departments to the calls. Upon returning to the fire house, firefighters would unhook the horses, thoroughly wash the equipment and push it back into the station ready for the next call,” Ellis said. “Over the years, the pushback ceremony has been a way to positively interact with the community and way of saying thank you to the community from the fire department for the new apparatus.”
Ellis said the new engine cost $517,000. The department bought the engine through a combination of city funding and community support.
At the end of the ceremony, firefighters washed the engine, then joined together to help push the 50,000-pound vehicle into its bay in the station. After the engine was parked, community members toured the station and inspected the department’s new vehicle.
Mayor Sherry Sullivan said she was pleased to see the addition to the city.
“The Volunteer Fire Department is near and dear to my heart. I’ve worked with y’all for numerous years on different projects,” Sullivan said.
She said Fairhope’s fire department has a good reputation throughout the area.
“Yesterday, I had an opportunity to sit in a meeting with all the Baldwin County mayors and the Baldwin County Commission and it give me great pleasure every time I’m with a group like that and we start talking about fire departments,” Sullivan said. “Everybody is just in awe of Fairhope and the volunteers that we have and how well y’all represent our community.”
The department has six other engines as well as other units, Ellis said.
