El Paso Fire Department Keeps Tradition From The 1800's Alive

The El Paso Fire Department has two new rigs and they're having what's known as a "wetdown ceremony" Saturday to officially put them into service.

It's a pretty simple ceremony. The two new trucks will be sprayed down with water, hand dried and then pushed ... that part may not be so simple ... into the fire station.

The tradition dates back to the late 1800’s when departments used horses to pull fire trucks to fires. After fighting the fire, the crews would then wash and ready the horses and the apparatus in preparation for the next call. - EPFD

Sounds kinda cool and there will be other stuff going on as well. Attendees can get fire prevention tips and can also sign up for the department's free smoke alarm program. The first 20 peeps there will also get a free calendar featuring Firefighters with their pets.

The ceremony is tomorrow at Fire Station 28, in the Northeast at 10800 McCombs, starting at 10am.