It’s a fire service tradition to welcome a new truck into the fleet by being pushed into the station.
Riverview Fire and Rescue Chief Robin True says they’ll hold their first push-in ceremony on Thursday night.
“A rescue (truck) is being replaced with a squad, and a new tanker is replacing a current engine. So, a rescue does not have a pump or a tank; the squad is really a combination of an engine and a rescue, so it will have an internal water tank and a pump, but it also has a lot of capacity to carry rescue equipment. So the squad is kind of like a Swiss Army knife of fire trucks in a sense,” True explained.
He says they decided to do their first ever push-in ceremony because this marks a new era, “It’s not only new apparatus, it affects our operations. We decided it was important to celebrate with the community the arrival of these two significant assets, which will assist in public safety in our community.”
At the ceremony, the firefighters, Town Councillors and members of the public will be in attendance.
The trucks will be pushed into the station for the very first, while they are running with a driver in place.
True says it’s even more exciting because they have been waiting some time for them to arrive.
“It can take upwards of two and a half to three years to get trucks, depending on the manufacturer. After COVID and some of the supply chain issues and labour force issues, it definitely takes longer now to build custom trucks compared to previous years.”
The previous trucks that are being replaced have been in service for around 20 years. The department is maintaining the same size fleet, but True adds that they have gained operational capacity because the new vehicles have more water capacity and can accommodate more rescue equipment.
If you’d like to learn more about the new trucks or attend the push-in ceremony, Riverview Fire and Rescue asks that you arrive at 6:30 sharp on Thursday night at the fire station on Pinewood Road.
The Riverview Fire and Rescue department is made up of 24 career firefighters, three Chief officers, and around 20 active volunteer firefighters.
