DeKalb fire hosts dedication ceremony for newest engine added to fleet

DeKALB – DeKalb Fire Engine No. 2 was given a bit of special treatment Friday, as the fire department’s new 2022 Rosenbauer was unveiled, dedicated and ceremoniously washed.

Among those on hand for the ceremony held at Fire Station No. 2 were DeKalb firefighters, city leaders and community members.

Fire Chief Mike Thomas said that knowing the fire department had the means to acquire the new engine means a great deal.

“It is really amazing that our department’s had the support that we’ve had, and we’ve worked long and hard to try to keep our apparatus in good working condition,” Thomas said. “This truck is replacing a 2007 pumper that has had some hard miles on it. So, that pumper is going to become a reserve engine. But it’s very meaningful to us to be able to spec a truck and get what we were hoping to.”

The new fire engine makes for the second of two vehicles the DeKalb Fire Department has acquired since October 2022, officials said. Typically, a replacement fire engine is needed every 15 to 20 years.

Deputy Fire Chief of Operations Don Faulhaber said the fire department had bought fire engines No. 2 and No. 3, the latter of which was dedicated in the fall, at the same time.

The new fire engine came at a cost of a little more than $600,000 to the city, officials said.

“The first one was a little bit cheaper … because of inflation, the cost of materials and everything,” Faulhaber said. “But we got them both for right around $1 million.”

Among the new features of the new engine is added compartment space.

Faulhaber said apart from that, the new fire engine is no larger than the rest of the vehicles in the fire department’s fleet.

“We learn as we go what we liked on the last engine, what we didn’t like,” he said. “We take that and, of course, the learning curve makes us make something that’s a little bit better and works a little bit better for our organization.”

By the ceremony’s end, those on hand for the ceremony gathered to push the engine into the garage at Fire Station No. 2.