VIDEO: The Bixby Fire Department held a traditional push-in ceremony for their new fire engine on Wednesday. “We are all gathered today to celebrate our new fire engine that we just got in that will go in service today,” said Bixby Fire Chief Joe Sherrell. “It’s a tradition that stems back from the horse-drawn steam engine days when they had to push them in, push in the carriages when they got back from a run, so it’s just kind of a 200-year tradition.”
Sherrell said Engine 1 is dedicated to one of their one own who they’ve chosen to honor in a fun wayโwith a bigfoot sticker bearing his name. “We dedicated this truck to Lieutenant Nick Guthrie. We lost Lt. Guthrie last year in a tragic accident, so it’s just our way of remembering him and that he’ll be on the ride when our firefighters go out and make their runsโฆHe used to make some of the bigfoot cutouts. He was kind of a bigfoot guyโฆHe was funny, so it kind of just fits with how we remember him.”
Sherrell said it meant a lot to be able to honor Lt. Guthrie during this push-in ceremony. “Tradition’s huge in the fire service, so we try to maintain tradition while we progress with modern fire apparatus, then being able to dedicate it to Lt. Guthrie means a lot to bring him into that tradition. I assume people will ask a lot of firefighters what the bigfoot is on the truck and that’ll help tell the story and kind of keep his legacy alive.” Sherrell said he was pleased to see how many members of the community came out to support the fire department at the push-in ceremony.
