Fire Department debuts new vehicle

A spray of mist settled over the front driveway of the Creston Fire Department. The department’s new pumper tanker shot a few gallons of water out of both installed turrets, one on the front bumper and one on the top of the vehicle. As the mist settled, it created a rainbow.

A long-standing traditional ceremony gave defined purpose to Creston Fire Department’s new 44,000-pound pumper tanker vehicle, dubbed “Tanker 4″ after a community-voted poll.

The Thursday ceremony was led by Fire Chief Todd Jackson, with demonstrations introduced and explained by Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Stull.

10-4, Tanker 4

Tanker 4 marks the first new vehicle in the Creston Fire department’s fleet in 11 years. Marking an upgrade for the fleet, the tank can hold 2,000 gallons of water, doubling the water capacity compared to next closest size in the fleet at 1,000.

“That’s the beauty of this truck,” said Stull. “We can flow a lot of water in a short amount of time with the guys on the scene.”

The new tanker will replace an old tanker that was purchased in 2001, ending at 23 years of service.

The construction of the tanker took place over 18 months, beginning in late 2022. Increased build times for the tankers have led to decisions being made years in advance before the vehicle can be deployed.

A new tanker, if purchased today, would take at minimum 900 days of construction, with delays stretching to an estimated time of three to four years to complete.

Two major features on the tanker will help put out fires faster.

A front nozzle on the bumper of the tanker can be controlled with a joystick by a firefighter inside the vehicle. Jackson and Stull said this will be effective for putting out vehicle fires, which can be done quickly before firefighters step out of the tanker.

Another mounted water turret is found on the top of the vehicle, which can be operated by a control panel inside the truck. This turret will help knock down and spray places that would otherwise be hard to reach.

The new tanker will be the strongest vehicle in Creston’s fleet, and will be used across all of Union County.

Traditions and ceremonies

The Creston Fire Department’s push-in ceremony, also known as a housing ceremony, stems from a long-standing tradition across all fire departments, originating when the vehicles used for putting out fires were horse-drawn carriages.

After horses were detached from the carriages, the equipment would still need to be pushed into facilities. Over time, engine-powered vehicles replaced them, but the tradition continues, even with the increasing size and weight of the vehicles.

“It’s 44,000 pounds,” said Jackson during the ceremony. “It’s hard for the two guys on duty to push that in by themselves. We’ll have a little assistance from the motor tonight.”

While the vehicle is driven in reverse into the building, the old tradition lives on with those who push alongside the truck, repeating history and respecting the history and crews who came before.

Members of the Creston Fire Department, along with attendees from local areas including EMS and other Union County fire departments, helped push the new tanker into the station house.

Before pushing the tanker in, a few different traditions took place. The first was a demonstration of two mounted turrets, spraying a few gallons of water each south of the station house.

Another tradition was pumping water from the old tanker into the new, a passing of the torch to the new vehicle in the fleet.

In addition to the traditional aspects of the ceremony, a blessing was given by Crest Baptist Church pastor Chuck Spindler. The pastor asked for divine protection to those who will use the tanker and gave a speech connecting water to faith and protection.

For the community

Creston Fire Department invited the community to participate for a few of the traditions, including a community wash-down, giving hoses to kids and volunteers to spray the new tanker, the first wash the tanker has received at the station.

In addition, the name of “Tanker 4″ comes from a poll given to ceremony attendees, giving the community the option to name the tanker.

After celebrating their 150th anniversary last year, the fire department understands how important the community is to them, and vice versa.

“It shows community support for us to go out and do this,” said Stull. “That truck is going to be in service for us for the next 20 years. The taxpayers have put in a lot of money in towards it.”