The St. Charles Fire Department is holding a traditional “Push-In” Ceremony and Dedication of Engine Company 101. All are welcome to come out at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at Fire Station #1, 112 N. Riverside Ave., St. Charles.

After brief remarks, the old Engine 101 will be retired and the new Engine 101 will be pushed into the station. Following this, Tri-Com will sound a Still Alarm.

The Push-In Ceremony honors a longstanding fire service tradition dating back to the 1800s when fire departments used hand-drawn pumpers and horse-drawn equipment.

Upon returning to the station after a fire call, the horses could not easily back the equipment into the station. So they were disconnected from the fire equipment and firefighters would push the equipment back into the bays themselves.

Today, the ceremony signifies retiring an old engine and putting a new engine into service.

SOURCE: city of St. Charles news release