Joplin Fire Department to hold wet down ceremony for new pumper truck

(From the Joplin Fire Department)

City officials and community members will join Joplin firefighters during a “Wet Down” Ceremony for the new pumper truck being put into service at Joplin Fire Station #4. The event will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, August 9 at Joplin Fire Station #4, 3402 S. Main Street.

After the wet down portion of the event, participants can join firefighters to “push” the truck into the station to be ready for the next call. 

This tradition of wetting down a fire truck as it begins service is reminiscent of the late 1800s when fire departments used horses to pull fire apparatus to fires. After fighting the fire, the crews would wash and prepare the horses and the apparatus in preparation for the next call. Crews push the apparatus into the station’s bay because the horse-drawn equipment could not be easily backed into the building. To move the equipment into the station, firefighters and community members gathered to push the heavy equipment into the fire bay.

This is the second new apparatus added to the department’s fleet in the past two weeks. This truck at Station 4, a 2024 Pierce Velocity Pumper with a capacity of 1,500 gallons per minute, is a match to the truck added to Station 6 last week. These engines carry extrication equipment and firefighting tools to be prepared for various responses. ⁠Both of the pumper trucks were funded through the Public Safety Sales Tax that voters approved in 2006.

 

Joplin Fire Chief Gerald Ezell noted that bringing these trucks online was important for the safety and efficiency of the department’s response in serving the community.

The Joplin Fire Department will host the Housing Ceremony, and everyone is invited to attend.