Memebers of the Benicia Fire Department and City Council– including Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and councilmembers Mark Hughes and Tom Campbell– honor the new Fire Engine 12 by throwing water on it in a wet-down, push-in ceremony. The engine is the newest vehicle at Fire Station 11 and was funded mostly through proceeds from Measure S. The engine replaces a 2008 Seagrave, which will be utilized as a reserve engine. (Photo by George Johnston)

Benicians might take notice of Fire Station 11’s new fire engine when it flies down the street during an emergency.
The Benicia Fire Department debuted its new engine at a ceremony Thursday. Members of the Benicia City Council, Benicia Police Department and the public along with the whole Fire Department were at the event. Fire Chief Jim Lydon could not attend the commemoration. Division Chief Josh Chadwick took on the duty of master of ceremonies.
Chadwick began the event by having everyone in attendance say the Pledge of Allegiance. He then thanked everyone for attending the ceremony and started his speech, which praised everyone from the members of the City Council to those who voted in support of Measure C. The ballot initative helped to fund the purchase of the new fire engine. The measure, which was a one-cent tax raise, was voted by Benicians in 2014. $189,401 was collected from the measure.
Chadwick said without the vote for Measure C this new engine would not be possible.
“I want everyone to kind of think it, as not the fire department’s fire engine, it’s not the council’s, it’s the community’s,” Chadwick said. “So everyone should take pride in it from a community standpoint.
The new engine is a 2017 Seagrave Pumper fire engine. It is a state-of-the-art front line pumper, according to the Fire Department. This new engine replaces a 2008 Seagrave Pumper fire engine, which will now become a reserve engine in the department’s fleet. Fire engines have a lifespan of 20 years, 10 years as “first out” and 10 years in reserve status.
Also in attendance for the event was Mayor Elizabeth Patterson. She said a few words and began by asking those in attendance to take a moment of silence for everyone affected in Houston by Hurricane Harvey. The mayor then praised the Fire Department and its new engine.
“To keep it short,” Patterson said, “this is really a great time to celebrate our best and finest Fire Department, the equipment and lastly to once again thank the public, the taxpayers for doing what we needed to happen and providing the services and public safety.”
At the end of the event, members of the City Council and Fire Department performed a “Wet-Down, Push-In.” The “Wet-Down, Push-In” ceremony dates the back the to late 1800s and early 1900s. Back then, horses pulled pumpers to fires. When the fires were put out, firefighters would return to the station and wash the horse and the pumper down. The horses were unable to back the pumper up, so firefighters would push the pump back into the station. When the pump was back in the station, it would signify the tool was ready to be used again.
This chore would evolve into a tradition to welcome a new piece of equipment to the department and ready it to begin serving the community. Those at the fire engine ceremony did not perform a traditional “Wet-Down, Push-In,” as they did not want everyone in attendance to get wet from the pump. Instead they threw bucket of water on the new fire engine and cleaned it before firefighters pushed the engine back into the station where it waits to be used.

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