On Tuesday, the Thomasville Fire Rescue held a traditional Push-In Ceremony to commission their newest 2022 Sutphen Quint fire engine and place it into service. 

At the ceremony, Fire Chief Tim Connell spoke about the tradition and the history behind it, saying that pushing in the fire engine pays homage to historic practices from the 1800s. 

“This is a tradition started back in the 1800s, when the firefighters would return to the station with their horse and the steam drawn engine, they would disconnect the horses, take them to the barn, and the firefighters would have actually have to push the wagon back into the forestation,” he said. “Throughout the years, this pushing ceremony has kind of came around and it signifies we’re pushing this truck into service, we’ll ring the bell when we get it in.”

The ringing of the bell, Connell said, would signify that the truck was truly in service and ready to be put to use for the Thomasville community.

Thanking the council and the city manager for allowing the purchase of the fire engine, Connell said that it wasn’t the fire department’s truck, it belonged to the community that had entrusted them with it. 

“So, this isn’t ours, it’s everyone’s. It’s the community’s fire truck,” he said. “We’re very proud of it.”

Mayor Jay Flowers said that the presence of the community for the ceremony was an indication of how Thomasville feels about the service that Thomasville Fire Rescue provides for them. 

“This is a good indication of how we, as a community, feel about our fire service and, also, our community service and first responders, public safety,” he said. “We invest in them because they take such good care of the assets that we provide and take such good care of our community, this is a great opportunity to celebrate Thomasville Fire Rescue and the commitment ya’ll have to excellence.”

Connell said that an additional ceremony would be held in a couple of months to mark the commissioning of a similar engine.