Ode to a Fire Engine, or Something Like That

by Lt. Jim Bussell, Public Information Officer

"I can think of no more stirring symbol of man's humanity to man than a fire truck."

-Kurt Vonnegut

In the fire service retirements are a big deal. They should be. A fire service retirement is generally significant but never more so than when a member of the department retires after a long and distinguished career. Because of the nature of the job, the arduous physical demands placed on the member, and the exposure to a litany of hazards, a long career is an achievement to be celebrated. These celebrated retirements are not exclusive to firefighters but to fire apparatus as well. In fact, there are occasions in which the retirement of an apparatus may be far more poignant and emotional than that of a firefighter. That is certainly how I feel about the retirement of Engine 3.

It is my humble opinion that Vonnegut's observation regarding the emotions evoked when one sees a fire engine is accurate. I think this is especially the case for the firefighter. I believe that there are very few, if any, things in this world that stimulate the wide range of feelings and emotions that I experience when I see a fire apparatus rolling down the street. After sixteen years in the fire service and thirteen years with the Rapid City Fire Department, I still swell with pride when I see one of our engines or trucks with her lights flashing and siren wailing. "My" truck and "my" firefighters, doing something I've seen and participated in thousands of times, still, and to this day, will stop me in my tracks. For anyone who has never experienced the fire service from our side, what I just attempted to convey may not make sense.

So, it is for the reasons I pointed out a moment ago, that the retirement of a fire apparatus is a big deal. For many firefighters, as it was the case for me, the fire service is by-and-large responsible for maturation and growth sufficient to truly deliver one into adulthood. The fire engine is central to that delivery. The fire engine carries us to many of the experiences that help to cultivate growth and maturation. When those stories are recounted later on, they almost invariably begin with, "I was on Engine (insert number here)". While the people and human relationships and interactions are so very important to the fire service, it's the fire engine that is the focal point.

  

I was hired by the Rapid City Fire Department in 2004. My first station and shift assignment was Station 3 on C Shift. 

Above: Station 3, C Shift crew, December 2004

Pictured, L to R: Firefighter/Paramedic Casey Warren (Ret.), Firefighter/Medic Bill Reishus (Ret.), Lt. Joe Gilles (currently the Captain at Fire Station 8), Firefighter/Medic Mark Raderschadt (currently the C Shift Lieutenant at Station 1), and myself.

Our fire engine at Station 3 was the oldest one in the fleet. It reminded me of a line from the AC/DC song Whole Lotta Rosie; "She ain't exactly pretty. Ain't exactly small". Engine 3 was a 1987 Pierce Arrow and, in 2004, was already 17 years old. It was easily identifiable because of its color, bright yellow. Back in the 1980's, many fire departments went to yellow as a primary color for fire engines because they felt it added a measure of visibility. The Rapid City Fire Department also adopted this idea and went to yellow fire engines until around 1993 when our organization again went back to purchasing traditional red fire engines. When I hit the floor in 2004, Engine 3 and a reserve engine at Station 1 were the last remaining yellow engines in the RCFD fleet.

I had a love/hate relationship with our engine. I was profoundly grateful for the chance to ride in a fire engine that said "Rapid City" on the side. It had an open cab back and only a seat-belt and safety bar separated the rear-facing firefighter from the pavement. During the summer I loved the open cab. During the winter I hated it. There wasn't a lot of storage room in Engine 3. Medical gear was stored in an outside compartment. If you were in the back seat, there was no room for turnout gear when you weren't wearing them. It was loud and fairly uncomfortable. But, man, that engine could pump water. 

A huge part of a driver/operators job is to operate the pump. Learning to operate the pump often proves to be a difficult topic for many firefighters. The ability to proficiently pump water on a fire is truly one that could mean the difference between saving a building or losing a building. That skill is also one that could be the difference between life and death. One thing was always for certain: If water wasn't coming out of Engine 3, it had to be operator error. There was no two-ways about it. The water pump on Engine 3 was about as reliable as you would ever find on a fire engine. It never failed a pump test in 30 years of service. Any operator who learned how to proficiently pump water from that particular engine would certainly be able to proficiently pump water out of any other apparatus that we had.

Engine 3 could also go just about anywhere we needed it to go. It had good clearance, was dependable in the snow and ice, and maneuvered around the hills and streets of West Rapid City without issues. No one that rode in it ever had to wonder if they could get where they needed to go or if the engine could perform once we got there. It wasn't flashy or shiny. It was effective and dependable and it served the citizens of Rapid City well. 

Since 1987, that yellow Pierce Arrow known as Engine 3 has been serving the citizens of the Rapid City area which makes it our second longest tenured "member". In early 2006, it was replaced with a brand new Quint. With the arrival of Quint 3 and its new state-of-the-art technology, Engine 3 was pushed into reserve status. When I think back to the innumerable incidents that it's been part of, several things strike me. The importance of this vehicle to the organization, the firefighters that rode on it, and the community really hit home. Incidents that may not necessarily stand out to our firefighters are sentinel moments in the lives of the people whose emergencies it responded to. Since 1987, water from the pump of Engine 3 was sprayed on many of the biggest fires our city has seen. Engine 3 was on scene at the Sweeney and Federal Beef fires and provided protection for countless structures in and around Rapid City for a number of significant wildland fires just to name a very few. This particular engine was in service during the 1988 Westberry Trails Fire. Time has forgotten more fires that Engine 3 responded to than most of our newest members will ever see.

Earlier this month, the Rapid City Fire Department welcomed a new engine to the fleet which will be housed and run out of Station 7. The new engine has increased storage, a larger motor, and the capability to carry gear to respond to a variety of technical rescue situations. The engine previously housed at Station 7 will move to Station 5 and take the place of a 2001 Pierce that is nearing the end of its service life. With the 2001 engine moving into a reserve role, Old Engine 3 will be forced into retirement. What will become of it, no one is sure at this point. 

Above: The new Engine 7 as during a ceremony to put it in-service. The new Rescue/Pumper will be housed at Station 7 in North Rapid.

To firefighters, the retirement of a fire engine is not generally something that is viewed as simply replacing one vehicle with another. For a select few of us a fire engine becomes more about who we are as people than what we do as firefighters. There is a reason that some cities devote a good deal of space and funding to museums built to memorialize these apparatus. Not everyone shares our sentiments. To some people in the community replacing a fire engine is a necessary evil. It represents an expenditure that they don't necessarily understand. Although Engine 3 has much sentimental value to many of us, the fact remains that it simply became time to replace it.

Parallels can continue to be drawn between firefighters and the fire engines that they ride on. After extended use, abuse and wear and tear, both can become obsolete. In some cases, the career of either may outlast their usefulness. In only a couple short decades, the mission of both the fire service as a whole and the Rapid City Fire Department has changed greatly. Versatility and the ability to respond to any emergency, any place and at any time are key. When Engine 3 was designed and built, firefighters only responded to fires. Response to medical emergencies, hazardous materials events and technical rescues did not come until later on and, certainly for our organization, not in earnest until 1994. Response to these incidents requires more equipment, more versatility and more capabilities than Engine 3 was designed for.

When a member, be they a firefighter or a fire apparatus, becomes unable to function in a versatile role, it becomes time to reevaluate the role the member will play in the organization. Inevitably, the time will come for every firefighter and every fire apparatus to retire and be replaced with a newer, more capable model. In my opinion, the thing that is most impressive is that it took 3 three decades to finally find a replacement suitable for Engine 3. 

For questions related to this post, please contact Lt. Jim Bussell at (605)-394-4180.

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