City of Metropolis Engine #1 In Service Ceremony

The fire truck push-in ceremony is a time-honored tradition in the fire service. Celebrating the arrival of a new unit has been a source of pride for fire departments across North America for over a century.

Early hand-drawn fire engines, ladder wagons, hose carts, and other apparatus of the 17th century had to be pushed back into the station by hand after every call. The horse-drawn steam engines that followed in the 18th century could be backed up. However, having to control the horses made it difficult to align the engine’s steam connections with the station’s steam connections. For this reason, the horses were typically disconnected and the engine was again pushed back into the station by hand.  When the first motorized fire engine was put into service in the early 19th century, firefighters continued to honor the push-in tradition, which grew to mark each new purchase of fire apparatus.

The City of Metropolis Fire Department proudly invites you to attend the In Service Ceremony of our new Fire Engine #1.