VWFD has Medic 7 ‘pushing in’ ceremony

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert Fire Chief Jon Jones is a great believer in tradition, and he has restored some old traditions during his tenure as fire chief, some of them going back to the time when fire engines were horse-drawn.

Two of those traditions were in play on Tuesday as the department formally dedicated its new Medic 7 EMS unit at the fire station.

Following a prayer by Fire Lieutenant Nick Steyer, Captain Dave Cummings began with a “wetting down” ceremony. Traditionally, water from a fire engine being replaced would be sprayed on the new engine. Of course, with the old Medic 7 not being a fire engine, per se, water from another vehicle had to be used.

Then came the “pushing in” ceremony.

“In the old days when they got a new fire engine, it was pulled by horses,” Chief Jones explained. The crew and the community would gather together and push it in (the fire station) together, showing the community support for that new fire engine to protect that community.”

While Van Wert community members weren’t on hand, a number of city employees were, including Mayor Jerry Mazur, Police Chief Joel Hammond and several police officers, and other city workers. They joined with fire personnel to push the Braun-manufactured Medic 7 through a large bay door into the VWFD garage.

Chief Jones said the EMS unit was the fourth the city has purchased from local ambulance maker Braun Industries, adding that the ambulance, which was to have an effective service life of six years, put in 15 years for the fire department before being taken out of service.

Moreover, the vehicle will now be used as the police department’s Special Response Team vehicle, replacing an older Braun ambulance now being used for that function. The older Braun ambulance will then be given to the Van Wert County Emergency Management Agency’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for use at fires and other disaster scenes.

The fire chief had nothing but good things to say about Braun ambulances.

“Braun makes a good unit, no doubt,” the fire chief said. “They’re the Cadillac of the ambulance industry.”

Chief Jones said the exterior paint job of the new EMS vehicle was designed by a VWFD committee to show community pride. While the other fire vehicles all have the Van Wert High School cougar logo on them, the new Medic 7 not only has a larger cougar emblem, but also includes the scarlet and gray colors of the city schools.

“I really wanted to put the community into our fire department,” the fire chief said, adding that the larger cougar head and scarlet-and-gray paint job showed his department was “loud and proud” in support of the community. “It turned out wonderful.”