PRESS RELEASE
The Notre Dame Fire Department recently acquired a new fire engine, and members of the Notre Dame community turned out for a “push-in”—a bit of fire service custom and culture, with a dash of pageantry surrounding the occasion, ndworks.nd.edu reported.
The new engine—an HME Ahrens-Fox urban attack pumper, number 1141—was the centerpiece of a tradition dating back more than 200 years, to a time when fire trucks were no more than horse-drawn carts. As horse anatomy and physics would have it, horses could pull a cart, but pushing a cart back into a bay was something just not doable by the four-legged fire service animals. So, firefighters unhitched the horses and then pushed the cart back into the bay.
Today, that “cart” is 27 feet long, seats four members in the cab, and carries equipment such as vent fans, electric saws, a fire blanket for battery fires, and five types of fire extinguishers, according to NDFD Assistant Chief Tim Hoeppner.
The new engine, which replaces the oldest engine in NDFD’s fleet of three, features a shorter wheelbase and tighter turning radius, “which makes it much easier to navigate on campus,” Hoeppner said.
“Fire departments are based on a lot of culture, from the helmets we wear to the trucks we drive. And today’s ceremony, known as a push-in, is designed to help us remember those that served before us,” Fire Chief Bruce Harrison said to a bay full of well-wishers.
As attendees gathered just outside the fire department bay prior to the push-in, Rev. Brian Ching, C.S.C., rector of the Basilica, shared a few words before blessing the engine.
“Even with all the skill and talent in the world, there’s an element of danger each and every day. So we have long asked God’s protection on you and God’s protection on your equipment,” Father Ching said. “In fact, the blessing that I’m about to use was first written by the Church in 1912, specifically to bless fire trucks. And we updated the language just a little bit. But know that this blessing goes back a long time because we are grateful for the sacrifice and service that you all provide. And we certainly want to ask God’s protection on all of you.”
About 20 firefighters took part in the pushing-in of the engine—after it was hosed down, another part of the nostalgia of welcoming in a new engine. The transferring of water from the old fire engine to the new engine signifies the transferring of service and responsibilities, Hoeppner said.
The ceremony was well attended by firefighters both active and retired, as well as many other members of the ND community. Mike Seamon, vice president for University Operations, Events, and Safety, was also in attendance. NDWorks caught up with him immediately after the push-in.
“I had chills. You instantly think of everybody who’s come before us, for decades and decades—literally hundreds of years of people that came before us, regardless of what their equipment looked like. There’s just such a sense of gratitude and humility to be able to serve the University community this way. It’s just really emotional. It is beautiful. It is a true blessing.”
