The Bartlesville Fire Department put its newly purchased, voter-approved pumper truck into service at Fire Station No. 3 last week following a traditional ceremony.
Fire Chief John Banks explained the tradition of holding a ceremony when new pumper trucks are put into service.
“These ceremonies include transferring water from the old truck to the new to signify transferring life into the new pumper truck,” Banks said.
After the water was transferred, several firefighters, along with City Councilors Jim Curd and Paul Stuart and City Manager Mike Bailey, assisted with pushing the vehicle into a bay at Station 3 to signify pushing it into service. Everyone then had a hand in washing the truck, and dispatch was contacted to officially put the truck into service.
The pumper was purchased from Chief Fire and Safety with funds approved by voters in the 2018 General Obligation Bond Election. The cost of the truck and equipment to outfit it was $589,000, Banks said.
“About 80,000 of the cost was equipment,” he said.
The average life of a pumper truck is about 20 years, Banks said.
“We typically keep them a few years longer than that, but that’s the average,” he said.
Photos by Ashton Peterson
