The Rapid City Fire Department held a ceremony and blessing to welcome its new ladder truck into service. The ceremony included a traditional push-in, where the truck was pushed into Station 6 by members of the department, BlackHillsFox.com reported.
This tradition dates back to when fire trucks were horse-drawn carriages that, after being taken out, had to be manually pushed back into the garage, the report said.
The ceremony was long-awaited as the process to get the custom-built truck began in 2019. However, due to economic and supply issues, the truck was not received until this year. With the truck now in service, firefighters believe they will be better prepared.
It is the third ladder truck to be added to the department.
