The North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Department has
scheduled a fire truck Push-In event for Wednesday, August 31, immediately
following City Council’s special called 2:00 p.m. meeting, to formally
celebrate the arrival of its latest fire truck. The Push-In will occur at Fire
Station #1, 1015 Second Avenue South. During the event, City Council members,
Public Safety personnel and others will push the new fire truck into its bay,
cementing its arrival in the community. The public is invited to attend.
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| Ladder Truck Outside Station 1 Bay |
Fire truck Push-In
events reportedly began in the time of horse-drawn firefighting equipment,
which could not be easily be backed into a building by the horses but had to be
pushed in by firefighting personnel.
The celebration of the arrival of a new piece of apparatus
has been a source of pride for volunteer fire companies for more than 100
years. The volunteers of the 18th and 19th centuries spared no expense in
outfitting and decorating their new "engins" (a popular term in the
19th century).
For decades, 19th-century volunteers in our largest cities
retained the services of some of the most famous artists of the period
including John Woodside, Thomas Sully, and Joseph Johnson, who rendered
incredible pieces of art on the rigs, composed of patriotic, mythological, and
historical scenes. Many of these companies held soirees and other social events
to mark the occasion of the new piece of equipment.
Norman Rockwell's 1971 illustration "The New American
LaFrance Is Here!" captured the moment of a new engine's arrival. Showing
his hometown Victorian firehouse in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Rockwell
conveyed the excitement in the town, showing children and adults rushing to see
the modern fire engine. Next to it is the town’s retired 1920s-era pumper.
About the City’s New Fire Truck
On July 15, North Myrtle Beach Fire/Rescue took delivery of
a 2016 Pierce 95-foot Mid-Mount fire truck on an Arrow XT chassis. The new
truck, which is now the city’s primary tower ladder, has been designated Truck
714 and is located at Fire Station #1.
The fire truck cost $1.2 million and was paid for out of the
City’s capital improvements fund over two fiscal years. A fire truck of this
type has an effective lifespan of about 20 years.
The new truck replaces a 1996 KME Aerial Cat 102 foot
Rear-Mounted Aerial, which has been moved out to another fire station as a
reserve apparatus. The KME has served the City well as its primary tower ladder
for 20 years. It was replaced due to its age and condition.
With the purchase of the new Pierce, the department has its
third operational aerial device within the city limits.
