New South Lake Tahoe fire engine in town; Wetdown ceremony Saturday

New South Lake Tahoe Fire Engine #3 is ready for service and will be formally initiated in a Wetdown Ceremony during SLT Fire Rescue's Open House on Saturday, October 14.

The brand new Pierce 4WD engine comes with a price tag of $675,000. It will replace the 18-year-old engine that has been part of the City's fleet since 1999. The average lifespan of a fire engine is 10-15 years for front line, high volume use like it had in South Lake Tahoe, and with over 100,000 miles on the odometer, it needed to replaced. The retired engine will remain in the fleet as a reserve engine and housed at the airport.

500 gallons of water will be carried on board the new Pierce which was built in Wisconsin. No more than that is needed in the community due to a good system of fire hydrants according to SLT Fire Battalion Chief Jim Drennan.

He, Phil Harwood and Tom Liebengood of the City's fleet mechanics, and SLTFR engineer Holt Cawelti have all worked closely the the team in Wisconsin to have the new engine built to specifics. They also traveled to their headquarters to wtest out the equipment before it was transported west.

Drennan said they will complete training of staff on the engine this week, and then a formal wetdown will be performed during the department's Open House at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

A wetdown is a celebration of the arrival of a new piece of apparatus, a source of pride for volunteer fire companies for more than 100 years. The volunteers of the 18th and 19th centuries spared no expense in outfitting and decorating their new "engins" (a popular term in the 19th century). Many of these companies held soirees and other social events to mark the occasion of the new piece of equipment.

Water is taken from the retiring engine and put onto the new engine. The public is invited to help with the wetdown.

The wetdown will be a new tradition for the department, something researched by SLT Fire Captain Al Martinez, and something that normally comes with a "push in." Fire departments would bush the new engine into the station, but since Fire Station #3 is on a slope, Saturday's push in will have a little help of an engine.