New firetruck for Station 7 in Kelowna

A longstanding tradition occurred at a Kelowna firehall on Saturday morning, although it was partially interrupted.

Firehall 7 was introduced to its new firetruck, and firefighters immediately gave it a wash with water from the station’s old fire truck.

Crews also pushed the new firetruck into the station in southeast Kelowna, including the 1,000 gallons of water it was carrying.

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However, while washing their new rig, crews had to leave for a call and clambered into the old unit – temporarily leaving the new unit wet.

“It dates back to the horse-and-buggy days,” said Clayton Ivan, the district chief of Station 7.

“We use water from the old truck to wash the new truck and then handpush it into the firehall. It’s just tradition. We’re trying to get back into traditions and what they used to do back in the day.”