The Kannapolis Fire Department placed a new engine into service at Fire Station 1 with a traditional “washdown” ceremony Wednesday. This event is the first held this year to celebrate the department’s 100th Anniversary.
The washdown ceremony involves firefighters wetting down the new truck with water, backing the new engine into the station and then everyone dries off the new truck. A blessing for the firefighters and the truck is also part of the ceremony. This tradition began in the late 1880s when horses pulled pumpers to the scene of fires. When the horses were returned to the station they and the pumpers were backed into the station and the horses and pumpers were washed down and readied for the next emergency.
The new fire truck, Engine 11, will replace a 1989 pumper. The new fire truck holds six firefighters and can pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute.
