Your Town: Meet Tower 47

The Maitland Fire Department held a “push in” ceremony on March 6 for Tower 47, the newest fire truck to join their ranks. With more high-rise development expected in Maitland’s future, the truck is fitted with a platform bucket that extends 95 feet in the air.

Firefighters christened the truck by hosing it down and allowing local residents to dry it before pushing it into the station hangar.

“Push in” ceremonies pay homage to firefighters of old, who used horse-drawn and hand-drawn equipment. Horses couldn’t easily push the equipment back into the station, so firefighters had to push the wagons in themselves.

Today, vehicles are ceremoniously pushed in to pay tribute to those early heroes.