The tradition of “pushing in” new equipment at the fire district dates back decades, says Park City Fire District Captain Bob Zanetti.
“Century-old tradition of when the horses used to bring the steamers in, they had to unhook and push the equipment in, and we’re going to replicate that by pushing this into service,” Zanetti said. “Hopefully by 2-2:30 p.m. today we’re going to have this baby in service. We’re really, really excited about it.”
Fire crews welcomed the new truck with a ceremony at its Royal Street station Thursday.
“Everything about this engine is designed and built for upper Deer Valley,” Zanetti said. “We protect billions of dollars up here of real estate, and this is a really important tool, along with the crews, to make sure we have everything we need to protect it up here.”
The new $785,000 engine replaces a truck that will now retire after 10 years of service in the district. It will be kept as a backup in emergencies.
Captain Jonathan Jahp says the new truck is one of the smallest in Park City’s fleet, second only to the one that services Old Town.
“Because it’s pretty tight in Deer Valley, we tried to keep this one pretty short,” Jahp said. “As you guys know, it snows an insane amount up here - what are we at, 8,000 feet? - so this has a new four-wheel drive system that is hydraulic all-wheel drive.”
Firefighters and town leaders including Park City Mayor Nann Worel all helped “push in” the new engine.
The new truck is the latest addition to Park City’s newest fire house on Royal Street. The $4 million station was finished earlier this year.
Zanetti calls the new truck the “last piece of the pie.”
