The Sebring Fire Department rolled out its newest apparatus, Engine 15, Wednesday morning at Station 15, with city officials on hand for the traditional wash down and push-in ceremony.

Speaking to the gathering at the ceremony, Sebring Fire Department Lt. Carlos Rivera said its engine has served the City of Sebring and Highlands County residents for over 15 years. It has been on countless calls, helped save numerous lives and played a crucial role in protecting the community.

The trusted engine will now be placed as a reserve unit to remain a vital of the department’s fleet, he said. The new engine brings significant advancements.

“The new engine brings a first of its kind to our fleet featuring lifesaving tools that are entirely battery operated, instead of the traditionally gas-powered tools,” Rivera said. “This innovative approach not only enhances our deployment efficiency and effectiveness, but also demonstrates our commitment to greater reliability and modernization.”

Also, with the new apparatus comes the Haas Alert vision system, he noted. It provides an advanced warning to drivers that an emergency vehicles are operating in their vicinity, which allows drivers to take action to avoid collisions, such as slowing down, changing lanes or pulling over to the side of the road.

This system will play a vital role to improve safety on the road, reducing the risk of accidents on the road involving emergency responders and ultimately saving lives, Rivera said.

The Haas Alert utilizes a digital alert system activated when an emergency vehicle’s flashing lights are activated. Motorists receive alerts on their vehicle’s dashboard info screen and mobile devices.

It was noted at the ceremony that the Sebring Fire Department is very appreciative to the City of Sebring city council, as well as the administrative staff who have helped through this approval and purchasing process. Along with the approval and purchasing process, there was also a Truck Committee that was established within Sebring Fire Department to help baseline the building process of the new apparatus.

The committee put in countless hours of ideas and internal approvals to help ensure that the new apparatus would be efficient for both the Sebring Fire Department personnel and the community.

Beginning in the 1800s, after crews returned from a call on horse-drawn equipment, the animals were unable to back into the station, requiring members to detach the horses and push the equipment into the bay. Over time, with the invention and adoption of motorized apparatus, the need to manually move the equipment was gone.

However, the legacy of the push-in was secured.

Now, in honor of those early crews, many fire departments hold a push-in ceremony when taking delivery of a new apparatus.

The city purchased the Pierce Saber Pumper for $674,078 plus equipment costs of $141,864, for a total cost $815,942.

‍

This article was originally published by Marc Valero at the Highlands News-Sun