Ready to roll: Moses Lake Fire Department brings new apparatuses into service, gives awards

The Moses Lake Fire Department officially brought two new trucks into service Tuesday, retiring the old rigs for backup and significantly improving upon the fleet.

The purchases of Engine 1 and Ladder 1, both a brilliant red and retroreflective black that shines bright silver in the sunlight, were approved last year by the city council. A third vehicle, a pumper-tender replacing two vehicles with more than four decades of use, is expected to arrive early next year.

“Today’s ceremony marks the placing and service of two new pieces of apparatus with the city of Moses Lake Fire Department, and in that ceremony we acknowledge the tradition and the history of the fire service,” said MLFD acting officer Paul Guerin. “A tradition whose origin is lost in time and history but is well established in the fire service is the transfer of water, the lifeblood of the fire service.”

At the ceremony, fire personnel loaded into soon-to-be-retired Engine 2 and started the engine before pumping water from the old apparatus into the new.

Next, the whole fire crew in attendance gathered to the front of the new rig to push it into the apparatus bay, known as “bedding.”

This officially brings the newest member of the fleet into service, Gueren said.

Gueren then carried on with the tradition.

“A handbell would be rung with a series of rings to alert fire watchers that a particular piece of apparatus was backed and quartered,” he said. “As technology progressed in the fire service, the handheld bell was replaced with a telegraph.”

Firefighters in each of the new trucks rung the telegraph bell eight times, officially signaling the entry of the new trucks.

“None of this could be possible without the help of our city team, including our finance department, which is why I asked our finance director Cindy Jensen here today,” said MLFD Chief Brett Bastian. “She was very helpful in everything that went on with these trucks and our council. I’m very appreciative of our council for approving this. We needed an upgrade to our fleet.”

Claps mellowed, but the ceremony wasn’t over. With retirements approaching, Bastian had awards to give.

Prior to 2016, the Moses Lake Fire Department would run trips out of town, he said, meaning units would be out of service for around five hours at a time.

A tremendous help in allowing the department to stop running those calls and instead focus on the citizens of Moses Lake was the Ground Emergency Medical Transport Act (GEMT), he said.

“We really couldn’t have navigated GEMT without Cindy’s involvement,” he said. “She did a lot for this department and as such she’s getting ready to retire here… Aug. 27, so on behalf of the department I want to present to Cindy Jensen an award.”

Bastian also gave an award to former MLFD Chief Jim Stucky, who retired in January after 13 years with the Moses Lake Fire Department.

“This was quite the experience, coming to work here from two other departments,” Stucky said. “The county is a whole different operation. It was great having all these guys. This is a great place. Thank you very much.”

Gueren came to work the same day the Moses Lake Fire Department started a paramedic-level Advanced Life Support transport ambulance service in 2001, Bastian said.

“It has been a long, hard run with that ambulance service. We’re still having growing pains, if you will. Call volume is up, everybody knows that, and I appreciate everyone’s work keeping up with that call volume and doing the job. It’s a difficult job to do, and so I wanted to appreciate everyone in the department and all of your hard work.”

Gueren, the department’s longest serving paramedic, will retire Monday.

“This is a really great place to work,” Gueren said. “I love all you guys. That’s going to be the hardest thing, is not being around family as much. Thank you.”

The final award given was from Brenden Feist of Spokane-based General Fire Apparatus and representative of Rosenbauer, which manufactured the new rigs. Per company tradition, he gave a large key, crafted by a Montana fire chief, to Mayor David Curnel.