Leland Adds New Fire Engine To Fleet

The Leland community gathered at Fire Station 51 to celebrate the activation of a brand new ladder truck with a traditional “Push-in Ceremony” on June 12. The new ladder truck arrived in the fall, and staff dedicated more than 1,300 hours to training to ensure they were fully prepared to operate it. It officially went into service in April, replacing two aging vehicles—a ladder truck and a heavy rescue truck—and consolidating their functions into a single, more efficient unit.

In the past, crews had to return to the station to switch vehicles if the initial response truck didn’t have the necessary tools. With the new ladder truck, those delays are eliminated, shaving crucial minutes off emergency response times. The previous ladder truck had also reached the end of its recommended 20-year service life and has moved to reserve status.

The Push-In Ceremony is a longstanding tradition in the fire service in which firefighters symbolically push a new truck into the station, honoring a practice from the days of horse-drawn fire engines.