A ceremony is being held for a new Branson fire truck, according to a Branson government press release.

The full press release is below:

BRANSON, Mo., 11/6/2023 – The Branson Fire Department is hosting an official Wet-Down/Push-In ceremony for its new fire truck at 1:00 p.m. at Fire Station 1, located at 110 Crosby St, to commission the truck and place it in service.

Branson Fire Rescue continues the decades-old tradition of inviting the community to push the new engine backward into the fire station bay. This tradition began in the late 1800’s when fire departments used hand-drawn pumpers and horse-drawn equipment that needed to be hand-pushed back into the bays themselves. Before pushing the apparatus back in the bay, the firefighters would also wash down and ready the pumpers and the horses before readying both for the next fire call.

The new Rescue Fire Engine was built by Pierce Fire Apparatus in Appleton, Wisconsin. It has a 450 horsepower diesel engine, a 1,500 gallon per minute fire pump, a 500 gallon water tank, a 30 gallon foam tank and will be loaded with fire equipment and specialized rescue equipment including the Jaws of Life to serve the Branson community.